Electron configuration for ions

[Sheik Sahadat]

Hello,
Could someone please help me on finding the electron configuration of ions? For example, with Ge2+. I would sort of treat this as GE losing two electrons, and therefore having an electron configuration similar to that of Zn. Is this correct or is there some other process I have to go about doing. And would the process be the opposite if the ion had a negative charge?
Thank you

[Iley I_Nagast_2L]

Hi,

You would start off by getting the ground state electron configuration of Ge which is:[Ar]3d10 4s2 4p2. Then you adjust the electron configuration according to the ion. For positive charges (cations), you subtract electrons. For negative charges (anions), you add electrons. So, for Ge2+, you would subtract 2 from the largest orbital being 4p2: 4p2-2=0. Therefore, the electron configuration of Ge2+ is [Ar]3d10 4s2.

Hope this helps!