Many of the properties of transition elements are due to the arrangement of electrons in their atoms. In these elements a lower energy level (or inner shell) is filled up between groups 2 and 3. This partly-filled energy levels explains why transition metals form brightly coloured compounds. It also results in their use as catalysts.
Could you please explain this a bit more clearly if possible?
Thanks :)
It is good that you want to find out more but this is one of those places where the GCSE answer is a little too simple. I will explain using some of the A-level ideas but please don't allow these to confuse or worry you.
You will know that the atoms fill up their electron shells using a maximum of 2, 8, 8 in the first three shells. GCSE electronic structure stops at calcium because it gets a bit tricky with the next element, Scandium.
It turns out that the next electron doesn't go into the fourth shell as you would expect, it goes into the third shell. This process continues right across the transition series so that the third shell actually holds a maximum of 18 not the 8 that they tell you about at GCSE. The next problem is that the electron shells are not as simple as they appear at GCSE. Rather than simply having 1,2,3,4 shells, at A-level you find that they are split into sub-shells such as 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d etc The filling of the electron shells for the transition series corresponds to filling up this 3d sub-shell.
The 3d sub-shell is itself split into different levels. Electrons are able to jump between these d-levels and they happen to use energy that matches the frequencies of visible light.
Since the copper levels are different to the cobalt levels, copper compounds are different in colour to the cobalt ones.
Health Warning!!!! This is complicated stuff and don't wreck your GCSE understanding by (very pleasingly) trying to explain something difficult.
If you like exploring this kind of thing, I hope you go on to take A-level chemistry. I think you would enjoy it.
It is good that you want to find out more but this is one of those places where the GCSE answer is a little too simple. I will explain using some of the A-level ideas but please don't allow these to confuse or worry you.
You will know that the atoms fill up their electron shells using a maximum of 2, 8, 8 in the first three shells. GCSE electronic structure stops at calcium because it gets a bit tricky with the next element, Scandium.
It turns out that the next electron doesn't go into the fourth shell as you would expect, it goes into the third shell. This process continues right across the transition series so that the third shell actually holds a maximum of 18 not the 8 that they tell you about at GCSE. The next problem is that the electron shells are not as simple as they appear at GCSE. Rather than simply having 1,2,3,4 shells, at A-level you find that they are split into sub-shells such as 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d etc The filling of the electron shells for the transition series corresponds to filling up this 3d sub-shell.
The 3d sub-shell is itself split into different levels. Electrons are able to jump between these d-levels and they happen to use energy that matches the frequencies of visible light.
Since the copper levels are different to the cobalt levels, copper compounds are different in colour to the cobalt ones.
Health Warning!!!! This is complicated stuff and don't wreck your GCSE understanding by (very pleasingly) trying to explain something difficult.
If you like exploring this kind of thing, I hope you go on to take A-level chemistry. I think you would enjoy it.
Wow, ok I understood some of that, which is good :P Thanks a lot. Yeah I'm doing chemistry next year, and I'm actually looking forward to it, lol, again, thanks a lot :D
If you want to disturb your GCSE revision even more, try out the Royal Society of Chemistry website (www.rsc.org). On their you will see news about chemistry issues as well as useful things for students. Have a quick wander around it and see if you like it.
Also there is the Oxford University site. Other universities have similar ones but I happen to like this one.
This was in my chemistry text book:
Many of the properties of transition elements are due to the arrangement of electrons in their atoms. In these elements a lower energy level (or inner shell) is filled up between groups 2 and 3. This partly-filled energy levels explains why transition metals form brightly coloured compounds. It also results in their use as catalysts.
Could you please explain this a bit more clearly if possible?
Thanks :)
It is good that you want to find out more but this is one of those places where the GCSE answer is a little too simple. I will explain using some of the A-level ideas but please don't allow these to confuse or worry you.
You will know that the atoms fill up their electron shells using a maximum of 2, 8, 8 in the first three shells. GCSE electronic structure stops at calcium because it gets a bit tricky with the next element, Scandium.
It turns out that the next electron doesn't go into the fourth shell as you would expect, it goes into the third shell. This process continues right across the transition series so that the third shell actually holds a maximum of 18 not the 8 that they tell you about at GCSE. The next problem is that the electron shells are not as simple as they appear at GCSE. Rather than simply having 1,2,3,4 shells, at A-level you find that they are split into sub-shells such as 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d etc The filling of the electron shells for the transition series corresponds to filling up this 3d sub-shell.
The 3d sub-shell is itself split into different levels. Electrons are able to jump between these d-levels and they happen to use energy that matches the frequencies of visible light.
Since the copper levels are different to the cobalt levels, copper compounds are different in colour to the cobalt ones.
Health Warning!!!! This is complicated stuff and don't wreck your GCSE understanding by (very pleasingly) trying to explain something difficult.
If you like exploring this kind of thing, I hope you go on to take A-level chemistry. I think you would enjoy it.
Wow, ok I understood some of that, which is good :P Thanks a lot. Yeah I'm doing chemistry next year, and I'm actually looking forward to it, lol, again, thanks a lot :D
If you want to disturb your GCSE revision even more, try out the Royal Society of Chemistry website (www.rsc.org). On their you will see news about chemistry issues as well as useful things for students. Have a quick wander around it and see if you like it.
Also there is the Oxford University site. Other universities have similar ones but I happen to like this one.
http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/vrchemistry/labintro/newdefault.html
This may be even too far advanced for you to make any sense of but maybe save it for the summer holidays when all this GCSE stuff is out of the way.
Any further questions will be gratefully received.