what happens to ionization energy within a family (group 1 to 17) as the atomoc number increases?

Question

How does this effect the properties of the elements within the family?

 

 

 

From Graphing Perdiodic Relationships Lab. 

Chemistry Form: L3.3a

Answer 1

Hello Makayla,

 

As you move down a column (staying within a family or group) of the periodic table, the ionization energy of an (the) outermost electron decreases. This is because of two things that are going on simultaneously:

 

1) As you increase the number of electrons, the distance of the outermost electron to the nucleus increases, which decreases the electric force between them by a factor of Δd², and

2) As the atomic number increases, the "shell" of inner electrons increases in size and number to match all but one proton in the nucleus, effectively shielding the outermost electron from that single positive charge in the nucleus that corresponds to our outermost electron.

 

Since this shielding effect becomes more effective the more electrons you have in the lower energy levels, and the outermost electron effectively "feels" only the attractive force of a single photon while its distance from that charge increases, the net result is a decrease in ionization energy as atomic number increases going down a family in the periodic table.

 

 

Eric Moline

McMinnville OR