An atomic cation with a charge of +1 has the following electron configuration: [Kr]5s24d105p2
what is the chemical symbol for the ion?
How many electrons does the ion have?
How many 5s electrons are in the ion?
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
Chemical Symbol for the Ion:
The electron configuration given is: ([Kr] 5s^2 4d^{10} 5p^2).
- The symbol ([Kr]) represents the electron configuration of krypton, a noble gas with the atomic number 36.
- The remaining configuration after ([Kr]) corresponds to elements in the 5th period of the periodic table.
- The last part of the configuration, (5s^2 4d^{10} 5p^2), corresponds to the element Germanium (Ge), which is in period 5, group 14 of the periodic table, with an atomic number of 32.
Since the ion is a cation with a charge of +1, it means the atom has lost one electron. The neutral germanium atom would have 32 electrons, but as a (+1) cation, it has one fewer electron.
Thus, the chemical symbol for the ion is Ge(^+).
Number of Electrons in the Ion:
A neutral germanium atom (Ge) has an atomic number of 32, meaning it has 32 electrons. Since the ion has a +1 charge, one electron has been removed.
Therefore, the number of electrons in the ion is:
[
32 – 1 = 31 \text{ electrons}
]
Number of 5s Electrons in the Ion:
The electron configuration of the neutral germanium atom is:
[
[Kr] 5s^2 4d^{10} 5p^2
]
This indicates that there are 2 electrons in the (5s) orbital. Since the ion has a (+1) charge, this means that one electron has been removed from the atom, but the electron configuration does not explicitly tell us which orbital the electron was removed from. Generally, when forming a cation, electrons are first removed from the outermost orbitals, which, in this case, would be the (5p) orbital.
Therefore, the number of (5s) electrons in the ion remains 2, since the (5s) electrons are more tightly bound compared to the (5p) electrons.
Conclusion:
- Chemical symbol for the ion: Ge(^+)
- Number of electrons: 31
- Number of 5s electrons: 2