Successive ionization energies for three unknown gaseous atoms—A, B
CHEMISTRY · Multi-part · A Level · Chemistry · Periodicity and periodic trends · Periodicity and periodic trends
Problem
Successive ionization energies for three unknown gaseous atoms—A, B, and C—are reported in the table.
IE₁ IE₂ IE₃ IE₄ IE₅ IE₆ IE₇ IE₈ (kJ mol⁻¹)
A 577 1810 2740 11 600 14 900 18 500 21 200 25 500
B 419 3050 4600 5900 23 000 28 000 32 000 37 000
C 1000 2250 3350 4600 6200 92 000 110 000 130 000
Answer the questions that follow.
(a) For each atom, identify the ionization step at which removal of a core electron begins. Justify your selections.
(b) Deduce the full ground-state electron configuration of each neutral atom (A, B, and C).
(c) Rank atoms A, B, and C in order of increasing atomic radius. Provide a detailed rationale that references both the electron configurations from part (b) and the numerical ionization-energy data.