Chemistry

Question Analysis
This question evaluates the student's ability to write the electron configuration of an element, specifically focusing on the transition metals and the application of the Aufbau principle.

Key Concept Explanation
The Aufbau principle states that electrons fill the lowest-energy orbitals first. For transition metals, the 4s orbital is filled before the 3d orbital, but the 3d orbital is written after the 4s in the electron configuration.

Step-by-step Solution
1. Identify the atomic number of vanadium, which is 23.
2. Determine the total number of electrons: 23.
3. Fill the orbitals in order: 1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s² (total 18 electrons so far).
4. The remaining 5 electron...