What is the electron configuration for silver in the ground state, for Ag2+ and for Ag1+? 6. What is the name of the element in the ground state with the shorthand electron configuration of [Kr]5s24d105p4? Is this element paramagnetic or diamagnetic? Illustrate with a box diagram.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Certainly. Here are the answers to the questions:
5. Electron configuration for silver:
- Ground-state silver (Ag): [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s¹
- Ag⁺ (silver(I) ion): [Kr] 4d¹⁰
- Ag²⁺ (silver(II) ion): [Kr] 4d⁹
6. Element with configuration [Kr] 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁴:
- Element: Tellurium (Te)
- Paramagnetic or diamagnetic: Paramagnetic, since there are unpaired electrons in the 5p orbital
Box diagram for tellurium:
5s: ↑↓
4d: ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓
5p: ↑↓ ↑ ↑
Explanation
Silver (Ag), atomic number 47, has a unique electron configuration: [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s¹. This configuration reflects the extra stability of a completely filled 4d subshell and a singly occupied 5s orbital, which is energetically more favorable than the expected [Kr] 4d⁹ 5s².
When silver loses one electron to form Ag⁺, the 5s electron is removed, resulting in [Kr] 4d¹⁰. This ion is particularly stable due to the filled d-subshell. If another electron is removed to form Ag²⁺, one electron from the 4d subshell is lost, yielding [Kr] 4d⁹, which is less stable because it disrupts the filled d-subshell arrangement.
The second problem identifies the element with shorthand configuration [Kr] 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁴. This corresponds to tellurium (Te), which is element 52. The 5p subshell can hold six electrons, and tellurium’s configuration indicates four electrons occupying the three 5p orbitals. By Hund’s rule, electrons fill orbitals singly before pairing. Therefore, the 5p orbitals contain two paired and two unpaired electrons.
Because tellurium has unpaired electrons, it is paramagnetic. Paramagnetism arises from the presence of unpaired spins that align with an external magnetic field. In contrast, diamagnetic substances contain only paired electrons and are weakly repelled by magnetic fields.
The box diagram confirms this: two orbitals in the 5p subshell are singly occupied, illustrating the unpaired nature of those electrons. These unpaired electrons are what give tellurium its paramagnetic character, distinguishing it from diamagnetic elements that have all their spins paired.
