Question

5.1 orbital energies
assuming the core electrons are 100% effective at shielding the valence electrons from the nuclear charge and the valence electrons provide no shielding for each other what would be the effective nuclear charge felt by a valence electron in ge?

Explanation:

Step1: Determine atomic number of Ge

Germanium (Ge) has an atomic number of 32.

Step2: Identify core and valence electrons

Ge has an electron - configuration of [Ar] 3d¹⁰4s²4p². The core electrons are those in the [Ar] and 3d¹⁰ shells. [Ar] has 18 electrons and 3d¹⁰ has 10 electrons, so the number of core electrons is 18 + 10=28. The number of valence electrons is 4 (4s²4p²).

Step3: Calculate effective nuclear charge

The effective nuclear charge ($Z_{eff}$) is calculated using the formula $Z_{eff}=Z - S$, where $Z$ is the atomic number and $S$ is the shielding constant. Since core electrons are 100% effective at shielding and valence electrons provide no shielding for each other, $S$ is equal to the number of core electrons. So $Z_{eff}=32 - 28 = 4$.

Answer:

4