Question

$ Fe $ has a higher melting point than $ Cu $ . Why?

Answer 1

Hint: The metal having a greater number of unpaired electrons will have more metallic bonds. More metallic bonds lead to having more melting points. Both copper and iron are metals. Based on the electronic configuration, the unpaired electrons can be calculated.

Complete answer:
Electrons are arranged in the sub-shells based on the capability of orbitals. s-orbital can accommodate two electrons, p-orbital can accommodate six electrons, d-orbital can accommodate ten electrons, and f-orbital can accommodate fourteen electrons.
Based on the modern periodic table, the chemical elements were arranged in the increasing order of atomic numbers and arranged in four blocks namely s, p, d, and f blocks. d-block is placed between the s and p-blocks.
Iron is the chemical element with the chemical name of ferrous and chemical symbol as $ Fe $ . The electronic configuration of iron is $ \left[ {Ar} \right]4{s^2}3{d^6} $ which has four unpaired electrons.
Copper is the chemical element with the chemical symbol of $ Cu $ . the electronic configuration of copper is $ \left[ {Ar} \right]4{s^1}3{d^{10}} $ which has only one unpaired electron.
The atom with more unpaired electrons can be able to form more metallic bonds. More metallic bonds mean higher strength of the compound which means a higher melting point.
Thus, due to the presence of more unpaired electrons $ Fe $ has a higher melting point than $ Cu $ .

Note:
The electrostatic force of attraction between the ions in the molecule is known as a metallic bond. When the strength of the metallic bond is more, these bonds cannot be easily undergone phase change from solid to liquid which reveals the higher melting point.