The electron configuration of the transition metals is described by W.H.E. Schwarz in his paper ‘The full story of the electron configurations of the transition elements’ (J. Chem. Educ., 2010, 87, 444). Schwarz discusses five features that must be considered to fully understand the electron configurations of these elements. Discuss each of these five features and summarize the impact of each on our understanding of the electronic configurations.