Given the following successive ionization energies, predict which element they correspond to.

Given the following successive ionization energies, predict which element they correspond to.

I1=0.80(MJ/mol) I2=2.43(MJ/mol) I3=3.66(MJ/mol) I4=25.02(MJ/mol)

A. B

B. Be

C. Li

D. C

E. N

Solution:

Ionization energy is the energy required to remove one electron from an atom.

Ionization energy 1 (IE₁) represents removing the first electron.Ionization energy 2 (IE₂) represents removing the second electron, and so on.

We observe the largest jump between ionization energy 3 and ionization energy 4. This tells us that the element is located in Group 3 of the periodic table. Group 3 elements have three valence electrons. After removing three electrons, the atom achieves a noble gas configuration, which is very stable. Removing a fourth electron would require breaking into a stable inner shell, so the energy increases dramatically.

Choice A is the correct answer.

Trick: Look at the group number of the element. The largest ionization energy jump occurs after all valence electrons have been removed — in other words, from that group number to the next ionization energy.

For example, sodium (Na) is in Group 1, so the largest jump occurs between IE₁ and IE₂.

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