Workshop week 4

[bgiorgi_3A]

Hey guys! So I struggle with Zeff and so I was wondering if someone could help explain the concept a bit and how I would use effective nuclear charge and electron shielding to fill in these blanks. Thanks!

b. Outer electrons experience an effective nuclear charge because of electron-electron
_________ with inner electrons. This is also known as electron _________.
c. An electron in the 3s state will experience a ________ Zeff than an electron in the 3d state.

[Crystal Yu 1D]

b. Outer electrons experience an effective nuclear charge because of electron-electron
repulsion with inner electrons. This is also known as electron shielding.
c. An electron in the 3s state will experience a larger Zeff than an electron in the 3d state.

To clarify part b, electrons have like charges so they repel. Think "opposites attract, like repel". When electrons of different energy levels repel each other, this is called shielding.

For part c, because the s orbital is closer to the nucleus than the d orbital (since they are both in the n=3 shell), the nuclear force will have a stronger attraction to the electrons in 3s since they are closer than the electrons in 3d.