To determine which element is expected to have the highest ionization energy, we should consider a few key factors: effective nuclear charge, atomic radius, and the overall stability of the element.
- Ionization Energy generally increases across a period (from left to right on the periodic table) due to increasing effective nuclear charge and decreasing atomic radius. It tends to decrease down a group (from top to bottom) because as atomic size increases, the electrons are farther from the nucleus and thus experience less attraction.
Now, let's analyze the options given:
-
Chlorine (Cl): Has a lower ionization energy compared to neon and fluorine due to being further down the group.
-
Fluorine (F): Although fluorine has a high ionization energy, it is lower than that of neon; also, it naturally forms an anion (F⁻), indicating it has a tendency to gain electrons rather than lose them easily.
-
Lithium (Li): Located in Group 1, lithium has a relatively low ionization energy because it has a single electron in its outer shell that can be easily removed.
-
Neon (Ne): As a noble gas, neon has a complete outer shell and a high effective nuclear charge with a small atomic radius, making it very stable and resistant to losing its outer electrons, which results in a very high ionization energy.
Given these considerations, Neon (Ne) would be expected to have the highest ionization energy value because of its high effective nuclear charge and small radius, which contribute to a strong attraction between the nucleus and its electrons.
1 answer