Greatest lattice energy

Question

In an ionic compound, the size of the ions affects the internuclear distance (the distance between the centers of adjacent ions), which affects lattice energy (a measure of the attractive force holding those ions together).

Based on ion sizes, arrange these compounds by their expected lattice energy.

Note that many sources define lattice energies as negative values. Please arrange by magnitude and ignore the sign.

∣∣lattice energy∣∣=absolute value of the lattice energy

greatest(strongest bonds) to least(weakest bonds)

BeBr2 BaBr2 MgBr2 CaBr2 SrBr2

Answer 1

All the salts are bromide salt, so we need only look at the size of the cations, Be²⁺, Ba²⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Sr²⁺. From smallest cation to largest cation we have..Be²⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Sr²⁺ and Ba²⁺

Strongest bond........................weakest bond

BeBr₂ > MgBr₂ > CaBr₂ > SrBr₂ > BaBr₂