Why isn't chromium's electron configuration 2, 8, 12, 2?

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SUMMARY

Chromium's electron configuration is 2, 8, 13, 1, which deviates from the expected 2, 8, 12, 2. This anomaly arises from Hund's rules and the stability achieved when five electrons occupy all five d orbitals, resulting in a lower energy state. In contrast, Vanadium has an electron configuration of 2, 8, 11, 2, while Manganese's configuration is 2, 8, 13, 2. The configuration of Copper also follows a similar principle with 10 electrons in the d orbitals.

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  • Understanding of electron configurations
  • Familiarity with Hund's rules
  • Knowledge of d orbital filling
  • Basic principles of atomic structure
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JoshuaFarrell
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Its actual electron configuration is 2, 8, 13, 1 even though Vanadium's electron configuration is 2, 8, 11, 2 and Manganese's is 2, 8, 13, 2.
 
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It has to do with the 3 Hund's rules and the fact that 5 electrons in all 5 d orbitals form a lower energy configuration. The same happens with 10 electrons and the configuration of Copper.
 

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