Be careful; nitrogen is NOT a transition element. The element you are thinking of is nickel, which is a transition element and has the chemical symbol \"Ni\" (different from that of nitrogen, which is \"N\"). Now, transition elements are those elements whose atoms have incomplete d- sub-shells, meaning that their electron configurations include a partly, not completely, filled d- sub-shell. (1) Let\'s take a look at the electron configuration of nickel: [Ar] 4s2 3d8 Notice that the d subshell, only contains 8 electrons, while elements whose d sub-shells are full have 10 electrons. Also, sorry, but nitrogen can\'t possibly be a transition element because it doesn\'t have any d electrons in its electron configuration, (2) Why are such special elements called \"transition elements\"? Transition elements are placed on the periodic table in the intermediate d-block, which is the relatively large middle section of the table which partitions alkali metals and alkaline earth metals to the left of the table, and metalloids and non-metal elements to the right of the table. Also, the physiochemical properties of transition elements are similarly \"in transition\"; the unpaired, low-reactivity d electrons cause these elements to have several different oxidation states, thus causing them to be in a state of transition. 1s2 2s2 2p3 Solution Be careful; nitrogen is NOT a transition element. The element you are thinking of is nickel, which is a transition element and has the chemical symbol \"Ni\" (different from that of nitrogen, which is \"N\"). Now, transition elements are those elements whose atoms have incomplete d- sub-shells, meaning that their electron configurations include a partly, not completely, filled d- sub-shell. (1) Let\'s take a look at the electron configuration of nickel: [Ar] 4s2 3d8 Notice that the d subshell, only contains 8 electrons, while elements whose d sub-shells are full have 10 electrons. Also, sorry, but nitrogen can\'t possibly be a transition element because it doesn\'t have any d electrons in its electron configuration, (2) Why are such special elements called \"transition elements\"? Transition elements are placed on the periodic table in the intermediate d-block, which is the relatively large middle section of the table which partitions alkali metals and alkaline earth metals to the left of the table, and metalloids and non-metal elements to the right of the table. Also, the physiochemical properties of transition elements are similarly \"in transition\"; the unpaired, low-reactivity d electrons cause these elements to have several different oxidation states, thus causing them to be in a state of transition. 1s2 2s2 2p3.