[cho_reunited]

I found out that Gold (Au) has an electron configuration of:
(Xe) 6s2 4f14 5d10

& I learned that when taking away electrons (because it's Au+3) you have to take them away from first the "P" orbital, then the "S" orbital.
So um, I have absolutely no clue what to do here....

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Vidya]

Electrons will be removed from outermost shell first .
In Au check the order of energies of the filled orbitals
In filled orbitals  electronic configuration  in order of energies will be
(Xe) 4f14 5d10 6s2 
now you can decide from where 3 electrons will be removed .

[cho_reunited]

So does that mean Au+3 = (Xe) 4f14 5d9  ??

[cho_reunited]

because if Au+3 = (Xe) 4f14 5d9, and the valence electrons are the ones in P & S, then that would mean there are no valence electrons here... which I really don't think is right.