write the complete ground-state electron configuration for barium cation, Ba2+. show work please, thanks
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To determine the ground-state electron configuration for the barium cation, Ba2+\text{Ba}^{2+}Ba2+, we need to follow these steps:
Step 1: Find the electron configuration of neutral Ba
Barium (Ba) has an atomic number of 56, meaning that the neutral atom has 56 electrons. The electron configuration of a neutral Ba atom follows the Aufbau principle, filling orbitals in the order of increasing energy: Ba: [Kr] 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2\text{Ba: } [\text{Kr}] \, 5s^2 \, 4d^{10} \, 5p^6 \, 6s^2Ba: [Kr]5s24d105p66s2
This notation means that:
- Ba has the electron configuration of Krypton (Kr) plus two additional electrons in the 5s orbital, 10 electrons in the 4d orbital, 6 electrons in the 5p orbital, and 2 electrons in the 6s orbital.
Step 2: Remove electrons for Ba2+\text{Ba}^{2+}Ba2+
The Ba2+\text{Ba}^{2+}Ba2+ ion has a 2+ charge, meaning it has lost two electrons. These two electrons are removed from the outermost shell, which is the 6s orbital.
Thus, after removing the two electrons, the electron configuration for Ba2+\text{Ba}^{2+}Ba2+ is: Ba2+:[Kr] 4d10 5p6\text{Ba}^{2+}: [\text{Kr}] \, 4d^{10} \, 5p^6Ba2+:[Kr]4d105p6
Explanation:
- The electron configuration for Ba2+\text{Ba}^{2+}Ba2+ is the same as the electron configuration for Krypton (Kr) plus the full 4d and 5p orbitals.
- The removal of electrons occurs from the highest energy level, which is the 6s orbital in this case.
- The final configuration shows that the Ba2+\text{Ba}^{2+}Ba2+ ion has a stable noble gas core configuration, similar to Krypton (Kr), but with additional filled 4d and 5p orbitals.
This configuration is more stable for the ion, as removing electrons reduces electron-electron repulsion and leads to a stable configuration with a filled outer shell.
