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Which of the following elements has the strongest ionization energy: Mg or Cl? Define ionization

energy and explain why based on the attractive force between protons and electrons.

User Erykah
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Answer:

Cl

Step-by-step explanation:

The element Cl will have the strongest ionization energy from the given choices. Most non-metals have higher ionization energy compared to metals.

Ionization energy is the energy required to remove the most loosely held electron from the gaseous phase of an atom.

  • As you go from left to right on the periodic table, it increases progressive
  • From top to bottom, the ionization energy reduces significantly.
  • The attractive force between the protons in the nucleus and the electrons plays a very important role.
  • In metals, they have very large atomic radius, the attractive force on the outer electrons is very weak.
  • This is not the case in non-metals
User BBSysDyn
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