The table below lists the first eight successive ionization energies (IE) of a gaseous element Z measured at 298 K.
Successive Ionization Energies of Element Z
IE number (n) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
IEₙ (kJ mol⁻¹) 738 1450 7730 10500 13600 17600 19800 23200
Answer the following questions about element Z.
(a) Identify the largest jump between two successive ionization energies for element Z and report the two ionization numbers between which it occurs.
(b) Describe what the jump identified in part (a) reveals about the number of valence electrons in a neutral atom of Z.
(c) Write the complete ground-state electron configuration for the neutral atom of Z using spectroscopic notation (e.g., 1s22s2…).
(d) Explain, in terms of the relative positions of valence and core electrons with respect to the nucleus, why the ionization energy increases so sharply at the point identified in part (a).