Tutorial 10: The Periodic Trends of Physical Properties

1. The elements radon (Rn), francium (Fr) and radium (Ra) have consecutive proton
numbers in the Periodic Table.

What is the order of their first ionization energies?

Least endothermic Æ Most endothermic

A Fr Ra Rn
B Fr Rn Ra
C Ra Fr Rn
D Rn Ra Fr
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2. Why is the first ionization energy of Ne higher than that of F?

A Fluorine is more electronegative than neon

B Neon has a complete octet, but fluorine does not
C The atomic radius of fluorine is less than that of neon
D The nuclear charge in neon is greater than that in fluorine

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3. Why is the first ionization energy of sulfur lower than that of phosphorus?

A Sulfur is more electronegative than phosphorus

B Sulfur forms anions more readily
C The electron to be lost is paired with another electron
D The sulfur atom is larger than the phosphorus atom
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4. Oxygen reacts with platinum (VI) fluoride, PtF6, as follows

O2 + PtF6 Æ O2+PtF6-

It was suggested that xenon should react similarly and, in this way, the first noble gas
compound was produced.

Xe + PtF6 Æ Xe+PtF6-

What is the most likely reason for the suggestion being made?

A O and Xe have similar atomic radii

B O and Xe have similar electron affinities
C O and Xe have similar electron configurations
D O2 and Xe have similar first ionization energies
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5. Successive ionisation energies of three Period 4 elements, Ca, Ge
and V, are plotted below.

14000

Ionisation energy/kJ mol─1

12000

10000
X
8000
Y
6000
Z
4000

2000

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Number of electrons removed

Which one of the following combination of elements could be X, Y and
Z?

X Y Z
A Ca Ge V
B Ge V Ca
C V Ca Ge
D Ca V Ge

RJC 2007 H2 Chem Prelim

Atomic Radii
6. a)The atomic radii of Na to Cl are given below:

Na Mg Al Si P S Cl
Atomic 0.157 0.136 0.125 0.117 0.110 0.104 0.099
radii/ nm

Briefly explain the trend of atomic radii above.

™ The atomic radii decreases from Na to Cl because the no. of protons increases
successively from one element to the next, hence nuclear charge increases.
™ Successive electrons are added to the same quantum shell. Moreover electrons in
the outermost shell are screened / shielded by the same no. of inner shells. Thus, the
change in screening effect is insignificant.
™ Hence the effective nuclear charge increases across a period. Thus, the outermost
electron is more strongly attracted towards the nucleus, electron size contracts and
the atomic radius decreases.

b) The atomic radii of Group II elements are given below:

Be Mg Ca Sr Ba
Atomic 0.089 0.136 0.174 0.191 0.198
radii/ nm
Briefly explain the trend of atomic radii above.

™ The no. of protons in the nucleus increases down a Group, hence nuclear charge
increases.
™ Each successive element contains an additional shell of electrons, hence,
electrons in the outermost shell are shielded/ screened by more inner shell
electrons. Thus, screening effect increases significantly.
™ Overall, the increase in screening effect outweighs the effect of increasing nuclear
charge, so effective nuclear charge decreases down a Group. The outermost
electrons are less strongly attracted to the positively charged nucleus, electron size
expands and the atomic radius increases from Be to Ba.

7) Four isoelectronic ions are listed below. Arrange them in term of increasing ionic radii
and explain the trend.

Na+, F-, N3-, Al3+

™ Al3+ has the most no. of protons (13p), followed by Na+ (11p), F- (9p) and N3- (7p).
Therefore, Al3+ has the highest nuclear charge followed by Na+, F- and N3-.
™ Screening effect of all the species are similar as they have the same no. of
electrons.
™ Hence, the effective nuclear charge of Al3+ is highest, followed by Na+, F- and N3-.
™ The ionic radii of Al- will be the smallest as it is has the strongest attraction
followed by Na+. F- and N3-.
™ In addition, in the anions of F- and N3-, there are more electrons than protons
which will result in more electronic repulsion which will increase the ionic radii
more.

Electronegativity/ Electron Affinity

8. Gaseous particle X has a proton (atomic) number n and a charge of +1. Gaseous particle
Y has a proton (atomic) number of (n + 1) and is isoelectronic with (has the same
number of electrons as) X. Which of the following statements correctly describe X and
Y?
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1. X has a larger radius than Y. (Note that X carry a charge of +1 wherea Y has a
charge of +2)
2. X requires more energy than Y when a further electron is removed from each particle.
3. X releases more energy than Y when an electron is added to each particle.
9a. The first electron affinity of oxygen atom is -142 kJ / mol and the second electron affinity
of oxygen is +844 kJ / mol. Suggest possible reasons for the difference in the two values.

b) Sketch a graph showing the first electron affinity of N to F. Explain why there is such a
trend.
a)
™ The first electron affinity of oxygen is exothermic as O- is formed from O atom
and O- is a more stable species compared to O atom as O is electronegative and
it prefer to form negatively charged anion.

™ However, the second electron affinity of oxygen is positive as electrons are now
added to negatively charged O- which will result in electronic repulsion which
causes the second electron affinity of oxygen to be endothermic as energy is
required to overcome the electronic repulsion to form the O2- anion.
b)

Energy /
kJmol-1 N
O
F

Proton no.

™ From N to F, there is an increase of one proton for each successive element,

therefore nuclear charge increase from N to F.
™ There is an increase of one electron for each successive element from N to F but
as they are added in the same quantum shell, there is insignificant increase in the
screening effect.
™ Effective nuclear charge therefore increase from N to F and the outermost
electron of F is attracted most strongly to the nucleus and the atomic radii is the
smallest. Hence, its willingness to accept electron increase resulting in a more
exothermic (-ve) first electron affinity.

Ionisation Energies
10. The molar first ionization energies of the elements Li to Ne in kJ mol-1, are given below.
Li Be B C N O Fe Ne
519 900 799 1090 1400 1310 1680 2080
a) (i) Define the molar first ionization energy of an element.

The molar first ionisation energy is defined as the energy required to remove one mole of
outermost electrons from one mole of gaseous atoms of an element to form one mole of
gaseous cations.

(ii) Write an equation representing the first and second ionization energies of oxygen.
O (g) Æ O+ (g) + e−
 O+ (g) Æ O2+ (g) + e−

(iii) The molar second ionization energy of O is 3390 kJmol-1. Explain why the molar second
ionization energy of O is greater than the molar first ionization energy.

O+ has one less electron compared to O atom. As they have the same no. of protons,
the value of second ionisation energy is greater than the first as the attraction of the
nucleus with the remaining electrons in O+ is stronger than in O. Thus, more energy is
required to remove the second outermost electron from a positive ion than a neutral ion.

b) (i) Explain why the molar first ionization energies show an overall tendency to increase
across the period.

™ The no. of protons increases successively from one element to the next, hence
nuclear charge increases.
™ Successive electrons are added to the same quantum shell. Moreover electrons in
the outermost shell are screened / shielded by the same no. of inner shells. Thus, the
change in screening effect is insignificant.
™ Hence the effective nuclear charge increases across a period. Thus, the outermost
electron is more strongly attracted towards the nucleus and the atomic radius
decreases. The electron cloud becomes closes to the nucleus, and it becomes more
difficult to lose an electron. Hence, more energy is required to remove the valence
electrons and the ionization energy of the element increases.

(ii) Explain the irregularities in this trend for B and O.

• 1st I.E. of B is lower than that of Be
Be : 1s2 2s2
B : 1s2 2s2 2p1

™ In Be, the first electron to be removed is from the 2s orbital, whereas for B, the first
electron to be removed is from the 2p orbital.
™ The 2p orbital is further from the nucleus and the 2p electron also experience
stronger screening effect from the attraction of the nucleus by the two 2s electrons.
™ These factors outweigh the effect of increased nuclear charge from Be to B, resulting
in less energy required to remove an electron from 2p1 than 2s2.
∴ 1st I.E. of B < 1st I.E. of Be
• 1st I.E of O is lower than that of N
N: 1s2 2s2 2p3 O: 1s2 2s2 2p4
2s 2p 2s 2p

™ In O, the electrons in the doubly occupied 2p orbital repel one another and
experience inter-electronic repulsion.
™ This factor outweighs the effect of increased nuclear charge from N to O,
resulting in lower energy required to remove an electron from the paired 2p
electrons in O.
∴ 1st I.E. of O < 1st I.E. of N

c) An element X has successive ionization energies as follows:

786 1580 3230 4360 16000 20000 23600 29100 kJmol-1
(i) To which group in the Periodic Table does X belong? Explain your answer.

™ Group 4. After removing 4 electrons, there is a large increase in ionization energy

when the 5th electron is removed.
™ Hence, the 5th electron is removed from an inner quantum shell, rendering the no. of
electrons to be 4.

(ii) Write down the outer electronic configuration of an atom of X.

ns2np2

(iii) Suggest formula for TWO chlorides of X.

XCl4, X2Cl6
adapted AEB 88 & ULEAC 91

11. The following species are isoelectronic:

K+ Cl- Ar Ca2+
when one electron is to be removed from the species, which one requires the highest
ionisation energy? Briefly explain your answer.

™ Ca2+ has the largest nuclear charge as it has the most no. of protons, followed by K+,
Ar and Cl-.
™ Since all these elements are isoelectronic, their screening effect is similar.
 ™ Hence, effective nuclear charge is the highest for Ca2+ followed by K+, Ar and Cl-.
Ca2+ valence electrons has the strongest attraction to the nucleus and the highest
amount of energy is required to remove its valence electrons and it has the greatest
I.E.

12. a) The plot in the diagram below shows the first ionisation energies for the element S, Cl,
Ar and K, relative to one another. On the same diagram, plot the relative position of their
second ionisation energies.

Second I.E.

b) The following is a portion of the graph of log10(ionisation energy) against atomic number
for an element X with atomic number less than 20.

(i) Give the name of one element to which the graph could apply. Briefly explain.
Mg or any element from Group II (not Be)

(ii) The first ionisation energy of Li, Na and K are in the order K< Na< Li. Briefly
explain this order.
™ The no. of protons in the nucleus increases down a Group from Li to K,
hence nuclear charge increases.
™ Each successive element contains an additional shell of electrons, hence,
electrons in the outermost shell are shielded/ screened by more inner shell
electrons. Thus, screening effect increases significantly.
™ Overall, the increase in screening effect outweighs the effect of increasing
nuclear charge, so effective nuclear charge decreases down a Group. The
outermost electrons are less strongly attracted to the positively charged
nucleus and the atomic radius increases. The electron cloud becomes further
to the nucleus, and it becomes easier to lose an electron. Hence, less
energy is required to remove the valence electrons and the ionization energy
of the element decreases from Li to K.