[soccerman12uk]

Hi all!

I am studying for my upcoming PChem final next Wednesday and am stuck on a couple of review questions.  Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you in advance.

1.  What term(s) are possible for Cu with electron configuration 3d^10 4s^1? Give all possible ^(2s+1) L (sub script J)

2.  In the Introduction, the authors state "the relative inertness of the neutral transition metal atoms is due to the 3d ^(x-2) 4s^2 ground state configurations." Explain why that configuration is not reactive. Explain what configurations do react and whats is the difference.

Reference: "Kinetics of Neutral Metal Atoms in the Gas Phase: Reactions of Sc through Cu with Alkanes and Alkenes." by D Ritter, J. Carroll, J. Weisshaar, in J. Phys. Chem 1992 (96) 10636-10645. 

Link for first page of article: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/j100205a014