Question

Select all atoms and/or ions which you anticipate will be attracted to a magnetic field

Group of answer choices

Ar

Mg

Zn2+

Xe1+

Fe

Cl-

Fe2+

Fe3+

Answer 1

Solution: Xe⁺ , Fe, Fe²⁺ ,Fe³⁺ are paramagnetic and hence they will be attracted by a magnetic field.

Explanation:

Only those elements will be attracted to the magnetic field which have unpaired electrons in them i.e. only paramagnetic elements will be attracted to a magnetic field.

Ar ( Z = 18 ) : 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶  

No unpaired electron. Hence, Ar will not be attracted to a magnetic field.

Mg ( Z = 12 ) : 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s²

No unpaired electron. Hence, Mg will not be attracted to a magnetic field.

Zn²⁺

Atomic number of Zn is 30. Since the charge on Zn²⁺ is +2 , hence it will contain 28 electrons.

Electronic configuration of Zn= 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶4s² 3d¹⁰

The 2 electrons will be removed from the outermost 4s orbital.

Electronic configuration of Zn²⁺ = 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶3d¹⁰

No unpaired electron. Hence, Zn²⁺ will not be attracted to a magnetic field.

Xe⁺

Atomic number of Xe is 54. Since the charge on Xe⁺ is +1 , hence it will contain 53  electrons.

Electronic configuration of Xe⁺ = 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰4p⁶5s²4d¹⁰5p⁵

Since there is a unpaired electron in 5p orbital, therefore Xe⁺ will be paramagnetic.

Fe ( Z = 26 ) : 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d⁶

The d orbital has five degenerate orbital and each of them can accomodate 2 electrons each.

If 6 electrons are to be filled one by one in 5 degenerate d orbitals, then 4 electrons will be unpaired.

Hence, Fe contains 4 unpaired electrons and it is paramagnetic and it will be attracted to a magnetic field.

Cl^-

The atomic number of Cl is 17.

Due to the presence of a negative charge, Cl^- will contain 18 electrons.

The electronic configuration will be: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶

All the orbitals in this configuration are fully filled.

No unpaired electron. Hence, Cl^- will not be attracted to a magnetic field.

Fe²⁺

The atomic number of Fe is 26.

The electronic configuration of Fe :

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d⁶ 4s²

Due to the presence of +2 positive charge, the number of electrons in Fe²⁺ will be 24.

The electronic configuration of Fe²⁺ :

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d⁶

The d orbital has five degenerate orbital and each of them can accomodate 2 electrons each.

If 6 electrons are to be filled one by one in 5 degenerate d orbitals, then 4 electrons will be unpaired.

Hence, Fe²⁺ contains 4 unpaired electrons and it is paramagnetic and it will be attracted to a magnetic field.

Fe³⁺

The atomic number of Fe is 26.

The electronic configuration of Fe :

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d⁶ 4s²

Due to the presence of +3 positive charge, the number of electrons in Fe³⁺ will be 23 .

The electronic configuration of Fe³⁺ :

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d⁵

The five electrons in the d-orbital are unpaired and therefore Fe³⁺ will be paramagnetic in nature.

Hence, Fe³⁺ will be paramagnetic in nature.