Question

what is the electron arrangement and electron configuration of Fe3+?

it loses 3 electrons so is it vanadium....
please explain.. by the way is this a transition metal? if so are there any rules?......

i don't understand!!!

Answer 1

Yes, Fe is a 3d transition metal.
Fe has an electron configuration of
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d6 4s2.
Fe loses the two 4s electrons to become Fe^2+.
Fe loses the two 4s and one of the 3d electrons to become Fe^3+.

No it doesn't become vanadium. The "element" is determined by the number of protons and Fe did not lose any protons in becoming either Fe^2+ or Fe^3+. Fe became either a 2+ ion or a 3+ ion by losing electrons, not protons. Loss or gain of electrons makes elements into ions; you must make nuclear changes to change the element. I assume you are thinking that if Fe loses 3e that makes it have 23 electrons which is, of course, the same number of electrons in a NEUTRAL vanadium ATOM. But the number of electrons simply determines the charge on the atom/ion; not the number of protons in the nucleus.