What is the ground state electron configuration of a \(\mathrm{K}^{+}\) ion?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: The ground state electron configuration of a K+ ion is 1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶.

Step by step solution

01

Identify the number of electrons in the neutral potassium atom

Refer to the periodic table to determine the atomic number of potassium (K), which represents the number of protons and electrons in a neutral atom. Potassium has an atomic number of 19, meaning it has 19 electrons in its neutral ground state.
02

Determine the electron configuration of a K\(^+\) ion

Since a K\(^+\) ion has lost one electron, it will have 18 electrons. Now, we need to write the electron configuration by filling the orbitals following the Aufbau principle (1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, etc.).
03

Write the electron configuration

Write the electron configuration by allocating the electrons to the orbitals, starting from the lowest energy level. We have 18 electrons to distribute: 1s can take 2 electrons: 1s\(^{2}\) (2 electrons used) 2s can take 2 electrons: 2s\(^{2}\) (2 + 2 = 4 electrons used) 2p can take 6 electrons: 2p\(^{6}\) (4 + 6 = 10 electrons used) 3s can take 2 electrons: 3s\(^{2}\) (10 + 2 = 12 electrons used) 3p can take 6 electrons: 3p\(^{6}\) (12 + 6 = 18 electrons used) So, all 18 electrons have been allocated to their respective orbitals. The ground state electron configuration of a K\(^+\) ion is: 1s\(^{2}\)2s\(^{2}\)2p\(^{6}\)3s\(^{2}\)3p\(^{6}\).

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