Photo AI
The energy (kJ mol⁻¹) required to remove the first five electrons from an atom of element X is shown in the table: Electron number 1 2 3 4 5 Energy 495 4560 6910 9550 13420 Element X is most likely to be located in the periodic table in group A - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 10 - 2004 - Paper 1
Question 10
The energy (kJ mol⁻¹) required to remove the first five electrons from an atom of element X is shown in the table: Electron number 1 2 3 4 5 Energy ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The energy (kJ mol⁻¹) required to remove the first five electrons from an atom of element X is shown in the table: Electron number 1 2 3 4 5 Energy 495 4560 6910 9550 13420 Element X is most likely to be located in the periodic table in group A - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 10 - 2004 - Paper 1
Step 1
Identify the trend in ionization energies
Answer
The ionization energies listed indicate a significant increase in energy required to remove each successive electron. The large increase from the second to the third electron (from 4560 kJ mol⁻¹ to 6910 kJ mol⁻¹) suggests that the third electron is being removed from a much more stable electron configuration, often characteristic of noble gases or elements in a different group.
Step 2
Evaluate the possible group locations
Answer
Considering the steady increase in ionization energies, we can deduce that element X likely has a filled or nearly filled outer shell, which is common in group I or II elements. The immense jump in energy, however, indicates that the configuration may resemble that of a noble gas, which suggests that element X could belong to group I, as group II would not demonstrate such a significant increase in energy at this stage.
Step 3