12.In general, early transition metal elements (onesonthelefthalf) are often fou

Question

12.In general, early transition metal elements (onesonthelefthalf) are often found in high oxidation states because:A)They have relatively high reduction potentials D)They all have f electrons.B)They have smaller ionic radii then late transition metals E) They have low oxidation potentials C)They have in general relatively high electronegativities

I know the answer is A. I am confused because a high reduction potnential means that it gains electrons easily. But I thought that they usually lose their electrons and thats why they have a high oxidation state. Please explain I am very confused.

Explanation / Answer

an element whose atom has an incomplete subshell or which can give rise to cations with an incomplete d sub-shell are generally called TRANSITION METALS

In general, the ions of very late transition metals -- those towards the right-hand end of the transition metal block, such as copper -- have high reduction potentials. In other words, their ions are easily reduced. Metal ions -- on the very left edge of the periodic table-- have very negative reduction potentials. These ions are very difficult to reduce. These trends are not surprising, because these metals are generally at the lower end of the electronegativity scale and are typically found as cations, not as neutral atoms. Late transition metals are comparatively electronegative in this case, and so we would expect their ions to attract electrons more easily than alkali metal ions.

So,we can conclude that early transition metals have negative reduction potential(less electronegative than last transition metals) i.e small oxidation potential which leads to their cationic nature(more oxidation state).So by it answer must be E(low oxidation potential)

but if in Q might asked about late transition metals then answer would be A

Thanks

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