What is ground state electron configuration of W3+?

1 Answer
Kris Caceres
Jan 18, 2016

#W^(3+) : [Xe] 4f^(14) 5d^3#

Explanation:

Electron configurations depend on the atomic number (total number of electrons in ground state) and oxidation state of an element.

For elements not in ground state, oxidation states should be taken into consideration. Oxidation state with "n+" means removing n number of electrons from the total number of electrons of the ground state element. "n-" on the other hand means adding n number of electrons. Then simply use this to obtain its electronic configuration.

For example, #W^(3+)#. "3+" means removing 3 electrons to its number of electrons in ground state. Tungsten has 74 electrons in the ground state with electron configuration of #W : [Xe] 4f^(14) 5d^(4) 6s^2#. Removing 3 electrons would give us a total of 71 electrons. Therefore, #W^(3+) : [Xe] 4f^(14) 5d^3#

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