Period to which vanadium belongs is

Options

A. 4th
B. 6th
C. 5th
D. 7th

Answer

To determine the period to which vanadium belongs, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the Atomic Number of Vanadium
Vanadium has the atomic number 23. This means it has 23 protons and, in a neutral atom, also 23 electrons.

### Step 2: Write the Electronic Configuration
The electronic configuration of vanadium can be determined by filling the orbitals according to the Aufbau principle. The electronic configuration for vanadium (V) is:
- 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d³

### Step 3: Determine the Valence Electrons
Valence electrons are the electrons in the outermost shell. For vanadium, the outermost shell is the fourth shell (n=4), which contains:
- 4s² 3d³

Thus, vanadium has a total of 5 valence electrons (2 from 4s and 3 from 3d).

### Step 4: Identify the Principal Quantum Number
The principal quantum number (n) corresponds to the highest energy level that contains electrons. In the case of vanadium, the highest principal quantum number is 4 (from the 4s orbital).

### Step 5: Determine the Period
The period of an element in the periodic table corresponds to its principal quantum number. Since the highest principal quantum number for vanadium is 4, it belongs to the fourth period of the periodic table.

### Conclusion
Therefore, vanadium belongs to the **fourth period** of the periodic table.

### Final Answer
The period to which vanadium belongs is **4**.

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