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, ""_74"W" is:

"1s"^2"2s"^2"2p"^6"3s"^2"3p"^6"3d"^10"4s"^2"4p"^6"4d"^10"4f"^14"5s"^2"5p"^6"5d"^4"6s"^2"

or

["Xe"]"4f"^14"5d"^4"6s"^2"

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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