Why does Ga have one unpaired electron?
Such as for example P has three unpaired electrons (because of its electron configuration) but I don't understand why Ga has one unpaired electron - wouldn't it be five (electron configuration)?
Thank you!
Look at 30Zn. That is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2.Add 1 more as a 4p1 and that's it.
OR, look at it as As minus 3 electrons. If P and As have 3 unpaired, then take two away and Ga has 3-2 = 1.
Ga (gallium) does not have 5 unpaired electrons. The electron configuration for gallium is [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p¹.
To determine the number of unpaired electrons, you need to look at the outermost electron shell, which is the 4th shell (4s² 4p¹). In this shell, there is only one unpaired electron in the p orbital. Therefore, gallium has one unpaired electron.
The element Ga (gallium) indeed has one unpaired electron in its ground state. To understand why, let's look at the electron configuration of gallium.
Gallium has an atomic number of 31, which means it has 31 electrons. The electron configuration of gallium is 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^1.
To determine the number of unpaired electrons, we need to fill the subshells following the Aufbau principle, which states that electrons fill the lowest energy levels first.
First, the 1s, 2s, and 2p subshells are filled, accommodating a total of 10 electrons (2 + 2 + 6 = 10). Next, the 3s and 3p subshells are filled, accommodating another 10 electrons (2 + 6 = 8). Then, the 4s and 3d subshells are filled, accommodating 10 electrons (2 + 10 = 12).
So far, we have accounted for 10 + 10 + 10 = 30 electrons. The remaining electron goes into the 4p subshell, giving gallium its electron configuration of 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^1.
Now, let's count the unpaired electrons. Beginning from the lowest energy level, we reach the 4p subshell, where we find a single electron. This unpaired electron explains why gallium has one unpaired electron.
In summary, gallium has one unpaired electron due to the way its electrons fill up its energy levels according to the Aufbau principle.