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The diagram represents the 10 electrons in the 4s and 3d sub-levels of a neutral atom of a certain element in its ground state - Leaving Cert Chemistry - Question b - 2020
Question b
The diagram represents the 10 electrons in the 4s and 3d sub-levels of a neutral atom of a certain element in its ground state. What is the element?
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The diagram represents the 10 electrons in the 4s and 3d sub-levels of a neutral atom of a certain element in its ground state - Leaving Cert Chemistry - Question b - 2020
Step 1
Identify the electron configuration
Answer
To determine the element, we first need to recognize the electron configuration represented by the diagram. The filling order of electrons is based on the Aufbau principle, which states that electrons fill the lowest energy orbitals first.
In the diagram, we see that the 4s sub-level is filled with 2 electrons, and the 3d sub-level is filled with 8 electrons (as shown by the 8 single arrows). Thus, the electron configuration can be written as:
Step 2
Determine the atomic number
Answer
Now, we need to calculate the atomic number (Z) of the element. The atomic number is the total number of electrons in a neutral atom, which is equal to the number of protons.
From the configuration:
- 4s contributes 2 electrons
- 3d contributes 8 electrons
Therefore:
Step 3