why metals are colures
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This graphic looks at the colours of transition metal ions when they are in aqueous solution (in water), and also looks at the reason why we see coloured compounds and complexes for transition metals. This helps explain, for example, why rust (iron oxide) is an orange colour, and why the Statue of Liberty, made of copper, is no longer the shiny, metallic orange of copper, but a pale green colour given by the compound copper carbonate.
In order to explain why transition metals are coloured, we first have to talk a little about how the electrons in an atom are arranged around the central nucleus. In secondary school, the majority of students learn that electrons are arranged in ‘shells’ around the nucleus; whilst this is a useful model for looking at electron arrangements, there is also an extra layer of complexity