Final answer:
The electron configuration for the barium ion (Ba₂⁺) is [Xe]4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ after removing the two outermost electrons from the 6s orbital of neutral barium.
Step-by-step explanation:
The electron configuration for a barium ion (Ba₂⁺) is determined by first writing the electron configuration for the neutral barium atom and then removing the two outermost electrons to account for the +2 charge. Barium (Ba) has an atomic number of 56, which means the neutral atom has 56 electrons. According to the aufbau principle, we fill the orbitals from lowest to highest energy. So we start with the configuration for a neutral barium atom: [Xe]6s²4f¹⁴5d¹⁰. When barium forms a 2+ ion, the two electrons in the 6s orbital are removed, leaving us with a configuration of [Xe]4f¹⁴5d¹⁰.