Question

How many unpaired electrons are present in each of the following in the ground state: \(\mathrm{O}, \mathrm{O}^{+}, \mathrm{O}^{-}, \mathrm{Os}, \mathrm{Zr}, \mathrm{S}, \mathrm{F}, \mathrm{Ar}\) ?

Short answer

The number of unpaired electrons for each element in their ground state is as follows: \(\mathrm{O}\): 2 unpaired electrons, \(\mathrm{O}^{+}\): 1 unpaired electron, \(\mathrm{O}^{-}\): 3 unpaired electrons, \(\mathrm{Os}\): 2 unpaired electrons, \(\mathrm{Zr}\): 2 unpaired electrons, \(\mathrm{S}\): 2 unpaired electrons, \(\mathrm{F}\): 1 unpaired electron, and \(\mathrm{Ar}\): 0 unpaired electrons.

Step-by-step solution

Oxygen atom (O)

The electron configuration of Oxygen (\(\mathrm{O}\)) is \(1s^{2} 2s^{2} 2p^{4}\). There are two unpaired electrons in the 2p orbital.

Oxygen cation (O+)

The electron configuration of Oxygen cation (\(\mathrm{O}^{+}\)) is \(1s^{2} 2s^{2} 2p^{3}\). There is one unpaired electron in the 2p orbital.

Oxygen anion (O-)

The electron configuration of the Oxygen anion (\(\mathrm{O}^{-}\)) is \(1s^{2} 2s^{2} 2p^{5}\). There are three unpaired electrons in the 2p orbital.

Osmium atom (Os)

The electron configuration of Osmium (\(\mathrm{Os}\)) is \([Xe]6s^2 4f^{14} 5d^{6}\). There are two unpaired electrons in the 5d orbital.

Zirconium atom (Zr)

The electron configuration of Zirconium (\(\mathrm{Zr}\)) is \([Kr]5s^2 4d^{2}\). There are two unpaired electrons in the 4d orbital.

Sulfur atom (S)

The electron configuration of Sulfur (\(\mathrm{S}\)) is \(1s^{2} 2s^{2} 2p^{6} 3s^{2} 3p^{4}\). There are two unpaired electrons in the 3p orbital.

Fluorine atom (F)

The electron configuration of Fluorine (\(\mathrm{F}\)) is \(1s^{2} 2s^{2} 2p^{5}\). There is one unpaired electron in the 2p orbital.

Argon atom (Ar)

The electron configuration of Argon (\(\mathrm{Ar}\)) is \(1s^{2} 2s^{2} 2p^{6} 3s^{2} 3p^{6}\). There are no unpaired electrons, as all orbitals are completely filled. Now, we have the number of unpaired electrons for each element: \(\mathrm{O}\): 2 unpaired electrons \(\mathrm{O}^{+}\): 1 unpaired electron \(\mathrm{O}^{-}\): 3 unpaired electrons \(\mathrm{Os}\): 2 unpaired electrons \(\mathrm{Zr}\): 2 unpaired electrons \(\mathrm{S}\): 2 unpaired electrons \(\mathrm{F}\): 1 unpaired electron \(\mathrm{Ar}\): 0 unpaired electrons