Identify the element for each of these electron configurations. Then determine whether this configuration is the ground state or an excited state. a. 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d 9
b. 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f 14 5d7

a. 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d 9 - the element is zinc and this is an excited state configuration

b. 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f 14 5d7 -the element is iridium and this is a ground state configuration

Explanation:

The ground state is the lowest energy state of an atom while excite states of Zn atom are higher energy states.

The configuration, 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d 9 applies to zinc atom in excited state while the configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f 14 5d7 applies to iridium atom in ground state.