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
495 4560 6910 95... 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 energy
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Answer
As seen in the provided energy values, there is a noticeable trend in the increase of energy required to remove each successive electron. The relatively small increase from the first to the second electron (495 kJ mol⁻¹ to 4560 kJ mol⁻¹) indicates that the first electron is removed from a less stable state, likely to be an outermost electron.
Step 2
Analyze the large jump in ionization energy
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Answer
The substantial increase between the second and third electrons (from 4560 kJ mol⁻¹ to 6910 kJ mol⁻¹) suggests that upon removing the second electron, the remaining electron configuration has achieved a more stable noble gas configuration. This indicates that element X likely has 2 valence electrons, characteristic of Group II elements.
Step 3
Determine the group location
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Answer
Considering the trends and significant energy jumps, element X is most likely located in Group II of the periodic table, as it reflects the properties of alkaline earth metals which typically have two outermost electrons.