The alkaline-earth metal calcium forms a doubly charged cation when two valence…
CHEMISTRY · Multi-part · AP · Chemistry · Atomic Structure and Properties · Atomic Structure and Properties
Problem
The alkaline-earth metal calcium forms a doubly charged cation when two valence electrons are removed. The ground-state electron configuration of neutral calcium is
1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s².
(a) Sketch a qualitative PES spectrum for a gaseous sample of neutral calcium. Label each peak with the appropriate subshell and make the heights of the peaks proportional to the number of electrons removed from that subshell.
(b) Calcium can lose its two outermost electrons to form Ca²⁺. Describe in detail the changes you would expect to observe in the PES spectrum when neutral calcium is converted to Ca²⁺. Your description should address both peak positions (binding energies) and peak heights.
(c) Provide a chemical explanation for the spectral changes described in part (b), making explicit reference to effective nuclear charge and the loss of electrons from specific subshells.