Textbook Question
Using the periodic table as a guide, write the condensed electron configuration and determine the number of unpaired electrons for the ground state of (d) As.
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Ch.6 - Electronic Structure of Atoms
Chapter 6, Problem 104c
In the experiment shown schematically below, a beam of neutral atoms is passed through a magnetic field. Atoms that have unpaired electrons are deflected in different directions in the magnetic field depending on the value of the electron spin quantum number. In the experiment illustrated, we envision that a beam of hydrogen atoms splits into two beams. (c) What do you think would happen if the beam of hydrogen atoms were replaced with a beam of helium atoms? Why?
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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Electron Spin Quantum Number
The electron spin quantum number describes the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons, which can take on values of +1/2 or -1/2. This property is crucial in determining how electrons behave in magnetic fields, as unpaired electrons will align with or against the field, leading to observable deflections in experiments like the one described.
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01:18
Spin Quantum Number
Magnetic Deflection of Atoms
When a beam of neutral atoms passes through a magnetic field, atoms with unpaired electrons experience a force due to their magnetic moments. This results in a deflection of the atoms' paths, which can be measured to infer properties about the atoms, such as their electron configurations and the presence of unpaired electrons.
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00:59Magnetic Quantum Example
Comparison of Hydrogen and Helium
Hydrogen has one electron, which can be unpaired, while helium has two electrons that are paired, resulting in no net magnetic moment. If a beam of helium atoms were used instead of hydrogen, we would expect minimal or no deflection in the magnetic field, as the paired electrons in helium do not contribute to a magnetic moment that would interact with the field.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question
Scientists have speculated that element 126 might have a moderate stability, allowing it to be synthesized and characterized. Predict what the condensed electron configuration of this element might be.
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Textbook Question
In the experiment shown schematically below, a beam of neutral atoms is passed through a magnetic field. Atoms that have unpaired electrons are deflected in different directions in the magnetic field depending on the value of the electron spin quantum number. In the experiment illustrated, we envision that a beam of hydrogen atoms splits into two beams. (a) What is the significance of the observation that the single beam splits into two beams?
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Textbook Question
The discovery of hafnium, element number 72, provided a controversial episode in chemistry. G. Urbain, a French chemist, claimed in 1911 to have isolated an element number 72 from a sample of rare earth (elements 58–71) compounds. However, Niels Bohr believed that hafnium was more likely to be found along with zirconium than with the rare earths. D. Coster and G. von Hevesy, working in Bohr's laboratory in Copenhagen, showed in 1922 that element 72 was present in a sample of Norwegian zircon, an ore of zirconium. (The name hafnium comes from the Latin name for Copenhagen, Hafnia). (a) How would you use electron configuration arguments to justify Bohr's prediction?
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Textbook Question
The discovery of hafnium, element number 72, provided a controversial episode in chemistry. G. Urbain, a French chemist, claimed in 1911 to have isolated an element number 72 from a sample of rare earth (elements 58–71) compounds. However, Niels Bohr believed that hafnium was more likely to be found along with zirconium than with the rare earths. D. Coster and G. von Hevesy, working in Bohr's laboratory in Copenhagen, showed in 1922 that element 72 was present in a sample of Norwegian zircon, an ore of zirconium. (The name hafnium comes from the Latin name for Copenhagen, Hafnia). (d) Using their electron configurations, account for the fact that Zr and Hf form chlorides MCl4 and oxides MO2.
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Textbook Question
The first 25 years of the twentieth century were momentous for the rapid pace of change in scientists' understanding of the nature of matter. (b) In what ways is de Broglie's hypothesis, as it applies to electrons, consistent with J. J. Thomson's conclusion that the electron has mass? In what sense is it consistent with proposals preceding Thomson's work that the cathode rays are a wave phenomenon?
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