Question

What are the characteristics of the transition elements and why are they

called transition elements? Which of the d-block elements may not be

regarded as the transition elements?

Answer 1

Transition elements are those elements in which the atoms or ions (in stable oxidation state) contain partially filled d-orbital. These elements lie in the d-block and show a transition of properties between s-block and p-block. Therefore, these are called transition elements.

Elements such as Zn, Cd, and Hg cannot be classified as transition elements because these have completely filled d-subshell.