I don't understand this paragraph, can anyone explain it to me?
If a large amount of energy is needed to remove an electron from an atom, the arrangement of electrons in that atom is considered to be especially stable. Thus, a high first ionization energy must be supplied to remove an electron from an atom and that the electron arrangement in that atom is especially stable. Any element that has a larger first ionization energy than it's neighboring elements has an electron arrangement in its atoms that is more stable than its neighboring elements.
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The simplfied steps that an atom must go through to form a compound include the first step of ionizing the last outer shell electron. An atom that loses the outside electron easily has a low ionization potential; that makes it easy for ami element, for example, to become a positively charged ion where it can react with a negatively charged to form a compound. A neighboring element that has a lower first ionization potential (the voltage necessary to remove the FIRST electron) forms the ion easier and that makes it easier to form compounds. A neighboring element that has a higher first ionization potential forms the ion with more difficulty and that makes forming a compound harder. I hope this helps.
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