How many unpaired electrons are there in tungsten?

1 Answer
Meave60
Jul 8, 2018

There are four unpaired electrons in the 5d sublevel (subshell).

Explanation:

The electron configuration of tungsten, 74W is:

1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d104f145s25p65d46s2

or

[Xe]4f145d46s2

There are five orbitals in any d sublevel. A single, unpaired electron must enter each of the five orbitals before electrons can be paired. The sixth electron would form a pair in one orbital. However, W has four 5d electrons, so they are all unpaired.

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