Transition Metals Intro Flashcards
What is a transition metal?
A D block element that forms 1 or more stable ion with incompletely filled d orbitals
What is a d block element?
The highest energy electron is in the d orbital
What does it mean for the d orbitals to be incompletely filled (to be considered a transition metal)?
The d subshell overall has less than 10 electrons when it has formed the ion
Are all d block elements transition metals? Why/why not?
No if they can’t form at least 1 stable ion with an incompletely filled d orbital then it is not a transition metal
What d block elements are NOT transition metals? And why?
Zn and Sc because the only ions they form have completely filled d orbitals or completely empty
If an element can form both an ion with a partially filled d subshell, but also an ion with a completely filled d subshell is it a transition metal?
Yes as long as it can from 1 ion at least with an incompletely filled d subshell it counts regardless of what the other ions electron configuration is
