A species is diamagnetic if it has no unpaired electrons. The electronic configurations of the given lanthanoid ions are as follows:
- Ce (Z=58): [Xe]4f15d16s2⟹Ce2+:[Xe]4f2 (2 unpaired electrons, paramagnetic)
- Eu (Z=63): [Xe]4f76s2⟹Eu2+:[Xe]4f7 (7 unpaired electrons, highly paramagnetic)
- Sm (Z=62): [Xe]4f66s2⟹Sm2+:[Xe]4f6 (6 unpaired electrons, paramagnetic)
- Yb (Z=70): [Xe]4f146s2⟹Yb2+:[Xe]4f14 (0 unpaired electrons, diamagnetic)
Since Yb2+ has a completely filled f-subshell and no unpaired electrons, it is diamagnetic.