Chemistry Worksheets Class 12 on Chapter 8: The d & f

Block Elements with Answers - Set 3

Q1. The lanthanoid contraction relates to:

a.) oxidation states

b.) magnetic state
c.) atomic radius
d.) valence electrons

Correct Answer– (c.) atomic radius

Q2. The highest magnetic moment is shown by the transition metal ion with which of the following
outermost electronic configuration.

a.) 3d2
b.) 3d5
c.) 3d7
d.) 3d9

Correct Answer– (b.) 3d5

Q3. If the seventh period is completed, the atomic number of the last element would be:

a.) 118
b.) 112
c.) 107
d.) 120

Correct Answer– (a.) 118

Q4. The element with atomic number 116 will belong to which period?

a.) third
b.) fifth
c.) seventh
d.) sixth

Correct Answer– (c.) seventh

Q5. Which compound is volatile on heating?

a.) MgCl2
b.) HgCl2
c.) ZnCl2
d.) None of the above

Correct Answer– (b.) HgCl2

Q6. Why Zn2+ salts are colourless while Ni2+ salts are coloured?

Answer. Zn2+ with the configuration [Ar]183d10 has all filled orbitals. As a result, its salts are colourless.
Ni2+ with the configuration [Ar]183d8 has two half-filled orbitals. As a result, its salts are coloured.

Q7. Although +3 oxidation state is the characteristic oxidation state of lanthanoids but cerium shows +4
oxidation state also. Why?

Answer. Although +3 oxidation state is the characteristic oxidation state of lanthanoids but cerium
shows +4 oxidation state also because after losing one more electron, cerium acquires stable 4f0
electronic configuration.

Q8. A compound has been found to have a magnetic moment of 3.9 B.M. How many unpaired
electrons does it contain?

Answer. , where n is the number of unpaired electrons.

3.9 can be written as

15 = n(n+2)
3 × 5 = n(n+2)
Hence, n = 3.
Therefore, the number of unpaired electrons is 3.

Q9. Following are the transition metal ions of the 3d series.

Ti4+, V2+, Mn3+, Cr3+
Answer the following questions:
i.) Which ion is most stable in an aqueous solution and why?
ii.) Which ion is a strong oxidising agent and why?
iii.) Which ion is colourless and why?

Answer. i.) Cr3+ because of half-filled t2g configuration.

ii.) Mn3+ due to stable d5 configuration
iii.) Ti4+ because it has no unpaired electrons.

Q10. CrO3 is an acid hydride. Explain.

Answer. CrO3 readily dissolves in water to give chromic acid, which acts as a strong acid. Therefore,
CrO3 is an acid anhydride.
CrO3 + H2O → H2CrO4

Q11. To what extent do the electronic configurations decide the ability of oxidation states in the first
series of the transition element? Illustrate your answer with example.

Answer. In a transition series, the oxidation states which result in half filled and completely filled
d-subshell are more stable.
For example, in the first transition series, electronic configuration of Mn (Z=25) is [Ar] 3d54s2. It shows
oxidation states from +2 to +7 but Mn (II) is most stable because it has stable electronic configuration.
Similarly, we can say for Zn (Z=30) having electronic configuration [Ar] 3d10 4s2 exhibits stable +2
oxidation state because of completely filled 3d10 configuration.

Q12. What is the effect of increasing pH on a solution of potassium dichromate?

Answer.The dichromate and chromate ions exist in equilibrium at pH = 4.

2– 2– +
Cr O2 7 +H O ⇆ 2CrO
2 4 + 2H
Dichromate ion Chromate ion
(Orange red) (Yellow)
Om increasing the pH (by adding akali), the H+ ions are used up and according to Le Chaltelier’s
principle, the reaction proceeds towards the forward direction producing yellow chromate ions.
On decreasing the pH (by adding an acid) the reaction shifts towards the backward direction producing
the orange dichromate ion.

Q13. Define disproportionation reaction. Give two examples of disproportionation reaction in aqueous
solution.

Answer. The disproportionation reactions are those in which the same substance gets oxidised as well
as reduced.
For example–
3CrO43– +8H+ → 2CrO42– + Cr3+ + 4H2O
3MnO42– + 4H+ → 2MnO4– + MnO2 + 2H2O

Q14. Write the chemical equations for the following reactions:

a.) Oxidation of nitrite ion by MnO4– in acidic medium.
b.) Acidification of potassium chromate solution.
c.) Disproportionation of manganese (VI) in acidic solution.

Answer.
a.) Oxidation of nitrite ion by MnO4– in acidic medium.
5NO2– + 2MnO4– + 6H+ → 2Mn2+ + 3H2O + 5NO3–

b.) Acidification of potassium chromate solution.

2K2CrO4 + 2H+ → K2Cr2O7 + 2K+ + H2O

c.) Disproportionation of manganese (VI) in acidic solution.

2MnO42– + 4H+ → 2MnO4– + MnO2 + 2H2O

Q15. Explain giving a suitable reason for each of the following:

i.) Transition metals and their compounds are generally found to be good catalysts.
ii.) Metal-metal bonding is more frequent for the 4d and the 5d series of transition metals than that for
the 3d series.

Answer.
i.) The catalytic properties of transition elements are due to the presence of unpaired electrons in their
incomplete d- orbitals and variable oxidation states.
ii.) Metal-metal bonding is more common in the 4d and 5d series of transition metals than in the 3d
series because the electrons in the outermost shell of these transition metals are farther away from the
nucleus.

Q16. Describe the preparation of potassium permanganate. How does the acidified permanganate
solution react with oxalic acid?

Answer. Potassium permanganate is prepared by the fusion of MnO2 with an alkali metal hydroxide
and an oxidising agent like KNO3. It forms dark green, K2MnO4 which disproportionates in a neutral or
acidic solution to give permanganate.
2MnO2 + 4KOH +O2 → 2K2MnO4 + 2H2O
3MnO42– + 4H+→ 2MnO4– + MnO2 + 2H2O

Reaction of the acidified permanganate solution with oxalic acid-

2MnO4– + 6H+ +5C2O42– → 2Mn2+ + 8H2O + 10CO2

Q17. Complete the following chemical equations:

i.) MnO4– + S2O32– + H2O →
ii.) Cr2O72– +Fe2+ + H+ →
iii.) MnO4– + H2O2 + H+ →
iv.) 2CrO42– + 2H+ →
v.) Fe2+ + MnO4– + H+→

Answer.
i.) 8MnO4– + 3S2O32– + H2O → 8MnO2 +6SO42– + 2OH–
ii.) Cr2O72– + 6Fe2+ + 14H+ → 2Cr3+ + 6Fe3+ + 7H2O
iii.) 2MnO4– + 5H2O2 + 6H+ → 2Mn2+ + 8H2O + 5O2
iv.) 2CrO42– + 2H+ → Cr2O72– + H2O
v.) 10Fe2+ + 2MnO4– + 16H+→ 2Mn2+ +8H2O + 10Fe

Q18. a.) i.) How is the variability in oxidation states of transition metals different from that of the p-block
elements?
ii.) Out of Cu+ and Cu2+, which ion is unstable in an aqueous solution and why?
iii.) The orange colour of Cr2O72– ion changes to yellow when treated with an alkali. Why?

b.) The chemistry of actinoids is complicated as compared to lanthanoids. Give two reasons.

Answer.
i.) The variability in transition metal oxidation states is due to incomplete filling of d-orbitals in such a
way that their oxidation states differ by unity, e.g., Fe2+ and Fe3+, etc. The oxidation states of P-block
elements differ by two units, e.g. +3 and +5. Furthermore, higher oxidation states in transition elements
are more stable for heavier elements in a group, e.g., Mo+6 is more stable than Cr4+. Due to the inert
pair effect, lower oxidation states in P-block elements are more stable for heavier members, e.g., Pb2+
is more stable than Pb4+.
ii.) In an aqueous solution, Cu+ is more unstable than Cu2+. This is due to the fact that, while the
2ndI.E of copper is high, the hydration enthalpy for Cu2+ is much lower than that of Cu+, and
compounds are unstable in an aqueous solution and undergo disproportionation.
2Cu+ → Cu2+ + Cu
iii.) The orange colour of the Cr2O72– ion changes to yellow when exposed to alkali due to the formation
of chromate ions.
Cr2O72– + 2OH– → 2CrO42– + H2O

b.) Actinoids' chemistry is more complicated than lanthanoids' because:

i.) Actinoids have a wide range of oxidation states, i.e., +3,+4,+5,+6 due to a small energy difference
between their 5f,6d, and 7s subshells.
ii.) Actinoids are radioactive, which complicates their chemistry.

Q19. How would you account for the irregular variation of ionization enthalpies (first and second) in the
first series of the transition elements?

Answer. Due to the continuous filling of the inner d-orbitals, ionisation enthalpies are found to increase
in the given series. The irregular variations of ionisation enthalpies can be attributed to the extra
stability of configurations such as d0, d5, d10. Since these states are extremely stable, their ionisation
enthalpies are extremely high.
Cr has low ionisation energy in the first ionisation state. This is due to the fact that after losing one
electron, it achieves the stable configuration 3d5. Zn, on the other hand, has an extremely high first
ionisation energy due to the removal of an electron from stable and fully-filled orbitals 3d104s2.
Second ionisation energies are higher than the first because it is more difficult to remove an electron
once one has been removed. Furthermore, elements such as Cr and Cu have extremely high second
ionisation energies because they have attained a stable configuration after losing the first electron ( Cr+
: 3d5 and Cu+ : 3d10). As a result, extracting one more electron from this stable configuration will require
a significant amount of energy.

Q20. Give reasons-

i.) Transition metals have high melting points.
ii.) Second and third transition series have similar radii.
iii.) Second ionization is difficult for Cu and Cr whereas it is easy for Zn.
iv.) Most of the transition elements are paramagnetic.
v.) Transition elements form alloys.

Answer.
i.) In transition metals, in addition to ns electrons, (n-1)d electrons can participate in bonding, resulting
in stronger metallic bonds. As a result, their melting points rise.
ii.) The size of the 5d series decreases due to lanthanoid contraction. As a result, their sizes are the
same as the sizes of elements in the 4d series.
iii.) The electronic configuration of Cr is 3d54s1 and that of Cu is 3d104s1. After the first ionisation, which
removes the electron from 4s, the second ionisation requires disturbance in a half-filled or fully-filled
configuration, which requires a high enthalpy, whereas the Zn configuration is 3d104s2. The
configuration of Zn is completely filled. Second ionisation is thus easier for Zn but difficult for Cr and Cu.
iv.) The presence of one or more unpaired electrons in atomic orbitals causes magnetism in transition
elements.
v.) Due to their similar sizes, transition metals can take each other's position in the crystal lattice. As a
result, they can form alloys.