Ground state Q

[Qester]

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Which has an unpaired electron in its ground state?

Mg+
K+

I know looking at the ions K+=[Ar] and that Mg+=[Ne] 3s1 which as an ion would make Mg+ unpaired.

However it seems as I am confused, I thought ground state was equivalent to no charge which would makes the question which has an unpaired electron K or Mg. where am I miss understanding ground state?

 

[QrtrLifeCrisis]

Which has an unpaired electron in its ground state?

Mg+
K+

I know looking at the ions K+=[Ar] and that Mg+=[Ne] 3s1 which as an ion would make Mg+ unpaired.

However it seems as I am confused, I thought ground state was equivalent to no charge which would makes the question which has an unpaired electron K or Mg. where am I miss understanding ground state?

Ground states means that electrons aren't promoted to higher energy levels. It's just additional information to make the question more concise, because theoretically, K+ can have unpaired electrons if any of their paired valence electrons were promoted up to a higher energy level.

 

[Qester]

Thanks you, I just had my definition incorrect