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Use of the Data Booklet is relevant to this question - CIE - A-Level Chemistry - Question 1 - 2014 - Paper 1
Question 1
Use of the Data Booklet is relevant to this question. Atoms of element X have six unpaired electrons. What could be element X? a) carbon b) chromium c) iron d) se... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Use of the Data Booklet is relevant to this question - CIE - A-Level Chemistry - Question 1 - 2014 - Paper 1
Step 1
What could be element X?
Answer
To determine which element corresponds to six unpaired electrons, we can look at the electron configurations of the given elements:
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Carbon (C): Atomic number 6. Electron configuration is . This has 2 unpaired electrons in the 2p orbital.
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Chromium (Cr): Atomic number 24. Electron configuration is . Here, there are 6 unpaired electrons (5 in the 3d subshell and 1 in the 4s subshell).
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Iron (Fe): Atomic number 26. Electron configuration is . This results in 4 unpaired electrons.
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Selenium (Se): Atomic number 34. Electron configuration is . This has 2 unpaired electrons in the 4p subshell.
From this evaluation, chromium (B) fits the criteria of having six unpaired electrons.