Phosphorus has a covalent atomic radius of and chlorine has a covalent atomic radius of

CHEMISTRY · Subjective · AP · Chemistry · Atomic Structure and Properties · Atomic Structure and Properties

Problem

Phosphorus has a covalent atomic radius of

110\,\text{pm}

and chlorine has a covalent atomic radius of

99\,\text{pm}

. Assume that (i) the distance of the outermost electron from the nucleus scales with these radii and (ii) the attractive force on that electron is proportional to

\dfrac{Z_{\text{eff}}}{r^{2}}

, where

Z_{\text{eff}}

can be approximated as

Z-10

for third-period elements. Calculate the predicted ratio

\dfrac{\text{IE}_1(\text{Cl})}{\text{IE}_1(\text{P})}

, reporting your answer to two significant figures.

Related theory

Ionisation enthalpy
Classification of Elements and Periodicity in Properties
Ionisation potential
Electron configurations
Periodic Trends in Physical Properties

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