Question

Electronegativity and unpaired electron configuration

Answer 1

Electronegativity is the tendency of the nucleus of an atom to pull bonding electrons towards itself. The electrons are closer to the more electronegative atom in a bond because the orbitals associated with the atom are lower in energy than orbitals associated with the other atom.

The magnetic properties of a substance can be determined by examining its electron configuration: If it has unpaired electrons, then the substance is paramagnetic and if all electrons are paired, the substance is then diamagnetic. This process can be broken into three steps: Write down the electron configuration.