How many unpaired electrons are there in tungsten?

1 Answer
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.