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Is the amount of energy required to remove one of the electrons from the first shell of Lᵢ greater than, less than, or equal to the IE₁ for Lᵢ? Explain your reasoning.

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Final answer:

The energy required to remove an electron from the first shell of Li is greater than the First Ionization Energy, as inner-shell electrons are more tightly bound to the nucleus compared to the outer-shell valence electron.

Step-by-step explanation:

The amount of energy required to remove an electron from the first shell of lithium (Li) will generally be greater than the First Ionization Energy (IE1) for lithium. Ionization energy, which is the energy required to remove an electron from an atom or ion in its gaseous state, increases for successive electrons removed. The first ionization energy is concerned with removing the most loosely bound electron, which is typically from the outermost shell. Removing an electron from the first energy level of Li means removing an inner-shell electron, an action that requires significantly more energy due to the stronger electrostatic attraction between the electron and the nucleus.

Ionization energies increase as you remove more electrons because you're removing them from an increasingly positively charged ion, which holds onto the remaining electrons more tightly. For elements like lithium, which has a configuration of 1s² 2s±, removing the first electron from the 2s shell is easier than removing one from the 1s shell because the 1s electrons are closer to the nucleus and more tightly bound. Therefore, the energy required to remove an electron from the first shell (a core electron) is greater than the IE1, which refers to removing the valence electron from the outer shell.

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