Question

Does ionization energy tend to increase or decrease from left to right across a period on the periodic table? Explain.

Answer 1

Answer:

Ionization energy tend to increase from left to right across a period on the periodic table.

Explanation:

Ionization energy can be defined as the minimum energy required to remove or detach an electron from a neutral atom in a gaseous state.

Generally, ionization energy tend to increase from left to right across a period on the periodic table. This increase is due to the fact that the atomic radius of chemical elements generally decreases across the periodic table, typically from alkali metals (group one elements such as hydrogen, lithium and sodium) to noble gases (group eight elements such as argon, helium and neon) i.e from left to the right of the periodic table. Also, the atomic radius of a chemical element increases down each group of the periodic table, typically from top to bottom (column).

This ultimately implies that, atoms with relatively large atomic radii tend to have a low electron affinity and a low ionization energy.