Which if the following has the greatest difference between it's first and second ionization energies?
Correct answer: A. Na
- A. Na
- B. Ca
- C. Mn
- D. F
- E. Ne
Explanation
The first ionization of an element refers to the amount of energy needed to remove one electron from an atom. The second ionization energy refers to the removal of a second electron. What kind of electrons are hardest to remove from an atom? Inner shell electrons. So the correct answer should be an element whose atoms have only 1 valence electron. Why? Because removing a second electron from such an atom would involve removing an inner shell electron and thus take an enormous amount of energy. So which of the choices has atoms with 1 valence electron? Think group 1A elements. Sodium is one of those, and (A) is correct.
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About Periodic Properties and Trends
Periodic properties arise from electron configuration and effective nuclear charge, producing trends in atomic and ionic radius, ionization energy, electron affinity, electronegativity, metallic character and reactivity. Comparisons run across periods and down groups, with attention to common exceptions. The topic also relates these trends to the behavior of s-block and p-block elements.
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