Question

The complete electron configuration of vanadium, element 23, is ______.

A. 1s4 2s4 2p8 3s4 3p3
B. 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d3 4s2
C. 1s4 2s4 2p6 3s4 3p5
D. 1s4 2s4 2p10 3s4 3p1
E. 1s2 2s2 2p10 3s2 3p7

Answer 1

The complete electron configuration of vanadium, element 23, is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d³ 4s².

Step-by-step explanation:

The complete electron configuration of vanadium, element 23, is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d³ 4s².

To determine the electron configuration of vanadium, we count through the periodic table to find its position. Vanadium is located in the 3d block, so we start filling electrons from the 3d sublevel. The electron configuration is as follows: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d³ 4s².

The electron configuration represents the arrangement of electrons in an atom's electron shells and subshells.

Answer 2

`1s^(2)\, 2s^(2)\, 2p^(6)\, 3s^(2)\, 3p^(6)\, 3d^(3)\, 4s^(2)`.

Step-by-step explanation:

Since the atomic number of vanadium is
`23`, there would be
`23\!` electrons in this atom.

The maximum number of electrons in each subshell (
`s`,
`p`,
`d`, etc.) is:

• 
  `2` for each
  `s` subshell (
  `1s`,
  `2s`,
  `3s`, etc.),
• 
  `6` for each
  `p` subshell (
  `2p`,
  `3p`, etc.,) and
• 
  `10` for each
  `d` subshell (e.g.,
  `3d`.)

By the Aufbau Principle, the first few electron subshells are filled in the following order:
`1s`,
`2s`,
`2p`,
`3s`,
`3p`,
`4s`,
`3d`.

To find the electron configuration of Vanadium, start by filling the subshells in the order from the Aufbau Principle. Keep track of the total number of electrons that be placed so far:

• 
  `1s^(2)` (the
  `1s` subshell is now full,
  `2` electrons placed in total.)
• 
  `2s^(2)` (
  `4` electrons in total.)
• 
  `2p^(6)` (
  `10` electrons in total.)
• 
  `3s^(2)` (
  `12` electrons in total.)
• 
  `3p^(6)` (
  `18` electrons in total.)
• 
  `4s^(2)` (
  `20` electrons in total.)

By the Aufbau Principle, the next subshell would be
`3d`, which holds up to
`10` electrons. However, since there are only
`23 - 20 = 3` more electrons to be placed, the
`3d\!` subshell of this atom will not be entirely filled:
`3d^(3)`.

The resultant electron configuration of this atom would be:

`1s^(2)\, 2s^(2)\, 2p^(6)\, 3s^(2)\, 3p^(6)\, 3d^(3)\, 4s^(2)`.