A General Chemistry Laboratory Experiment Relating Electron Configuration and Magnetic Behavior

摘要

During the time that students spend studying the fundamentals of quantum chemistry and chemical bonding, there are few laboratory experiments that can be performed to reinforce their learning. A simple experiment has been developed to afford students the opportunity to practice writing electron configurations for atoms and ions while relating the configurations to observed diamagnetic and paramagnetic properties of different chemical compounds. Assessment of common exam questions in our fall semester course indicates an improvement in student performance in correctly identifying electron configurations.