KCET2008Chemistryd and f Block Elements
Mercury is a liquid metal because
Options
- Ait has a completely filled orbital
- Bit has a small atomic size
- Cit has a completely filled orbital that prevents - overlapping of orbitals
- Dit has a completely filled orbital that causes - overlapping
Correct answer
C. it has a completely filled orbital that prevents - overlapping of orbitals
Step-by-step solution
The electronic configuration of mercury (80) is, [Xe] 4 f ¹⁰, 5 ~d ¹⁰, 6 ~s ² . Its -subshell is completely filled, thus it prevents the overlapping of orbitals ( - overlapping). Hence, it is liquid metal at room temperature.