Electronegativity is a major determining factor in how atoms bond. Remember the short definition is an atom's ability to "possess electrons in a bond". Atoms with high electronegativity tend to gain electrons or possess them more of the time when they are shared. Atoms with lower electronegativity tend to donate electrons to other atoms more of the time. Use the periodic table model below and rank the selected elements from highest electronegativity to lowest electronegativity.

Question

Scandium, Iodine, Iridium, Oxygen, Barium

Answer 1

To rank the selected elements from highest to lowest electronegativity based on the periodic trends, we can refer to known electronegativity values for these elements:

1. Oxygen (O) - High electronegativity; it is highly effective at attracting electrons due to its position in the group of nonmetals.
2. Iodine (I) - While lower than oxygen, iodine still has a relatively high electronegativity as a halogen.
3. Iridium (Ir) - A transition metal with moderate electronegativity.
4. Scandium (Sc) - Another transition metal with lower electronegativity than iridium.
5. Barium (Ba) - An alkaline earth metal with the lowest electronegativity of the group, as it tends to easily lose electrons.

Thus, the ranking from highest to lowest electronegativity is:

1. Oxygen (O)
2. Iodine (I)
3. Iridium (Ir)
4. Scandium (Sc)
5. Barium (Ba)