In: Chemistry
Question 2
Part A
Of the following, which element has the highest first ionization energy?
sodium |
magnesium |
aluminum |
silicon |
Ionization energy is the energy required to remove an electron from a gaseous atom or ion.
The first ionization energy of an atom or molecule is the energy required to remove one mole of electrons from one mole of isolated gaseous atoms or ions.
The order of firt ionization energy will be as follows
Na < Mg > Al < Si
The electronic configurations are as follows:
Na(At no,11) : 3s1
Mg(At no,12): 3s2
Al ((At no,13): 3s23p1
Si (At no 14): 3s23p2
The ionization enegy of Na will be lowest as it is very easy to remove one 3s elctron and gain the stable 1s22s22p6 configuration.
The ionization energy of Mg will be larger than that of Na due to fully filled stable 3s2configuration, it is difficult to remove the 1 st electron.
The ionization of Al will be smaller than that of Mg due to one electron extra than the stable configuration so it is easier to remove the 1 st electron than Mg.
Among all these four elements, Si has the highest 1 st ionization energy due to highiest effective nuclear charge.