The arrangements of electrons in atoms and ions are often written in simplified form, known as 'condensed electron configurations' - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 3 - 2007 - Paper 1
Question 3
The arrangements of electrons in atoms and ions are often written in simplified form, known as 'condensed electron configurations'. For example, the condensed electr... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The arrangements of electrons in atoms and ions are often written in simplified form, known as 'condensed electron configurations' - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 3 - 2007 - Paper 1
Step 1
i. C
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Answer
The condensed electron configuration for carbon (C) is written as:
[He]2s²2p²
This indicates that carbon has a total of 6 electrons, with 2 electrons in the 2s subshell and 4 electrons in the 2p subshell.
Step 2
ii. Fe
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Answer
The condensed electron configuration for iron (Fe) is:
[Ar]4s²3d⁶
This reflects the distribution of 26 electrons in total, with 2 in the 4s subshell and 6 in the 3d subshell.
Step 3
iii. Fe³⁺
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Answer
For the iron ion (Fe³⁺), the electron configuration alters as follows:
[Ar]4s⁰3d⁶
This configuration shows the removal of 2 electrons from the 4s subshell and no change in the 3d subshell, resulting in a total of 23 electrons.
Step 4
b. State the group and period of the periodic table where an element with the electron configuration [Kr]4d¹⁵s²p⁵ is found.
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Answer
The electron configuration [Kr]4d¹⁵s²p⁵ corresponds to an element in Group 17 (the halogens) and Period 5 of the periodic table.
