Write the ground-state electron configuration for a neutral atom of each element: titanium vanadium
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Correct Answer:
Titanium (Ti), Atomic Number 22:
Electron configuration:
1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d² 4s²
Vanadium (V), Atomic Number 23:
Electron configuration:
1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d³ 4s²
Explanation
The electron configuration of an atom shows how its electrons are distributed among different atomic orbitals. These configurations follow three essential rules: the Aufbau principle, Pauli exclusion principle, and Hund’s rule.
The Aufbau principle states that electrons fill orbitals starting from the lowest energy level to higher ones. For most elements, the filling order is:
1s → 2s → 2p → 3s → 3p → 4s → 3d → 4p → and so on.
Now, let’s apply this to Titanium (Ti). Titanium has an atomic number of 22, meaning it has 22 electrons in its neutral form. Filling the orbitals in order of increasing energy:
- 1s² (2 electrons)
- 2s² (2 electrons)
- 2p⁶ (6 electrons)
- 3s² (2 electrons)
- 3p⁶ (6 electrons)
- 4s² (2 electrons)
- 3d² (2 electrons)
This gives the configuration: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d²
Or rearranged as: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d² 4s²
Next is Vanadium (V) with atomic number 23. This means 23 electrons in the neutral atom. Starting with the same sequence as above, we continue:
- 1s² through 3p⁶ (already 18 electrons)
- 4s² (2 electrons) → total now 20
- 3d³ (3 electrons) → total becomes 23
So the configuration is: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d³ 4s²
Both elements are transition metals, and their electron configurations reflect partial filling of the 3d subshell, a key feature of these elements.
