Question

What is the ground-state electron configuration of terbium (Tb)?

Answer 1

The ground-state electron configuration of terbium (Tb) is 1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d¹⁰4p⁶5s²4d¹⁰5p⁶6s²4f⁹.

Step-by-step explanation:

The ground-state electron configuration of terbium (Tb) is 1s22s22p63s23p64s23d104p65s24d105p66s24f9.

Terbium (Tb) is in the f-block, specifically the lanthanide series. This means that it has 2 valence electrons in the 6s orbital and 9 valence electrons in the 4f orbital. The electron configuration represents the distribution of electrons in the different energy levels and orbitals of an atom.

Answer 2

The ground-state electron configuration of terbium (Tb) is [Xe]4f¹⁹ 6s², requiring knowledge of the Aufbau principle and exceptions to electron configurations.

Step-by-step explanation:

The ground-state electron configuration of terbium (Tb), which has an atomic number of 65, follows the Aufbau principle, Hund's rule, and Pauli's exclusion principle. The configuration can be written as [Xe]4f¹⁹ 6s², indicating that it has the xenon core ([Xe]) followed by nine electrons in the 4f orbitals and two electrons in the 6s orbital. You'll notice that there are exceptions to the predicted electron configurations, such as in cases of chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu), where electrons shift to half-filled or fully filled d subshells for extra stability. However, terbium's configuration follows the expected order.