Electronegativity-periodic trend

Trend Across a Period (Left to Right):

• Electronegativity increases as you move across a period from left to right in the periodic table.
• Explanation: Atoms in this direction have a greater nuclear charge and a smaller covalent radius. This allows the nucleus to exert a stronger attraction on the bonding electrons, making the atom more electronegative.

Trend Down a Group (Top to Bottom):

• Electronegativity decreases as you move down a group in the periodic table.
• Explanation: Atoms in this direction increase in size and have a greater number of energy levels. The extra energy levels and increased covalent radius result in the bonding electrons being further away from the nucleus. This screening effect weakens the attraction for bonding electrons, making the atom less electronegative.

Example:

• Fluorine (F) is highly electronegative, meaning it strongly attracts shared bonding electrons towards itself.