06 Rules for filling
- The series starts after calcium (₂₀Ca: [Ar] 4s²). The five 3d orbitals then receive electrons one per orbital (Hund's rule: electrons occupy empty orbitals of the same sublevel singly before pairing) up to Mn (3d⁵). After Mn, electrons pair up in the orbitals until Zn (3d¹⁰).
- Chromium and copper are exceptions. Expected Cr: 4s² 3d⁴ and Cu: 4s² 3d⁹, but the actual configurations are Cr: 3d⁵ 4s¹ and Cu: 3d¹⁰ 4s¹. In chromium both 4s and 3d are half filled; in copper 4s is half filled and 3d is completely filled. A half-filled (d⁵) or completely filled (d¹⁰) sublevel gives the atom lower energy, hence extra stability. (This is a major factor, though it is not the only one.)
A picture of the 3d orbitals (each box is one orbital, arrows are electrons):
- Sc 3d¹: [↑][ ][ ][ ][ ] — Ti 3d²: [↑][↑][ ][ ][ ] — V 3d³: [↑][↑][↑][ ][ ]
- Cr 3d⁵ (with 4s¹): [↑][↑][↑][↑][↑] — Mn 3d⁵ (with 4s²): [↑][↑][↑][↑][↑]
- Fe 3d⁶: [↑↓][↑][↑][↑][↑] — Co 3d⁷: [↑↓][↑↓][↑][↑][↑] — Ni 3d⁸: [↑↓][↑↓][↑↓][↑][↑]
- Cu 3d¹⁰: [↑↓][↑↓][↑↓][↑↓][↑↓] — Zn 3d¹⁰: the same.