Question 22.9: High- and Low-Spin Octahedral Complexes How many unpaired e...

Begin by determining the charge and number of d electrons on the metal.

The metal is Co^{3+} and has a d^6 electronic configuration.

Look at the spectrochemical series to determine whether the ligand is a strong-field or a weak-field ligand.

F^- is a weak-field ligand, so ∆ is relatively small.

Decide if the complex is high- or low-spin and draw the electron configuration.

Weak-field ligands yield high-spin configurations.

Count the unpaired electrons.

This configuration has four unpaired electrons.