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Chapter 2: Problem 105

One bit of evidence that the quantum mechanical model is "correct" lies in the magnetic properties of matter. Atoms with unpaired electrons are attracted by magnetic fields and thus are said to exhibit paramagnetism. The degree to which this effect is observed is directly related to the number of unpaired electrons present in the atom. Consider the ground-state electron configurations for Li, N, Ni, Te, Ba, and Hg. Which of these atoms would be expected to be paramagnetic, and how many unpaired electrons are present in each paramagnetic atom?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The paramagnetic atoms among the given elements are Li, N, and Ni. Li has one unpaired electron (1s² 2s¹), N has three unpaired electrons (1s² 2s² 2p³), and Ni has two unpaired electrons (1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d⁸). The other elements (Te, Ba, and Hg) have all their electrons paired.

Step by step solution

01

Determine electron configurations of given elements.

To do this, use the periodic table and the Aufbau principle. The order in which electron subshells are filled is as follows: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, and so on. Consider the electron configurations of the given elements: Li (Atomic number: 3): 1s^2 2s^1 N (Atomic number: 7): 1s^2 2s^2 2p^3 Ni (Atomic number: 28): 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^8 Te (Atomic number: 52): 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^6 5s^2 4d^10 5p^4 Ba (Atomic number: 56): 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^6 5s^2 4d^10 5p^6 6s^2 Hg (Atomic number: 80): 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^6 5s^2 4d^10 5p^6 6s^2 4f^14 5d^10
02

Identify paramagnetic atoms and count unpaired electrons.

An atom is paramagnetic if it has unpaired electrons in its electron configuration. For Li: 1s^2 2s^1 -> One unpaired electron For N: 1s^2 2s^2 2p^3 -> Three unpaired electrons For Ni: 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^8 -> Two unpaired electrons For Te: 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^6 5s^2 4d^10 5p^4 -> All electrons are paired. For Ba: 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^6 5s^2 4d^10 5p^6 6s^2 -> All electrons are paired. For Hg: 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^6 5s^2 4d^10 5p^6 6s^2 4f^14 5d^10 -> All electrons are paired. From the above analysis, Li, N, and Ni are paramagnetic, with 1, 3, and 2 unpaired electrons, respectively.

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