Day 1  Day 2  Day 3  Day 4  Day 5  Day 6

Day 1

Question 1

Describe and explain the trend in first ionisation energy across Period 3 from sodium to argon.

Question 2

Explain why the first ionisation energy of aluminium is lower than that of magnesium.

Day 2

Question 1

Describe how and why the first ionisation energy changes down Group 2 from beryllium to barium.

Question 2

Predict the trend in successive ionisation energies of the Group 18 (noble gas) elements as you go down the group.

Day 3

Question 1

The first four ionisation energies of an element X are:
738, 1451, 7733, and 10500 kJ mol⁻¹.
(a) Identify the group of element X in the periodic table.
(b) Explain your reasoning.

Question 2

Sketch a graph of successive ionisation energies for magnesium and explain the large jump between two particular values.

Day 4

Question 1

Explain why the first ionisation energy of oxygen is less than that of nitrogen even though oxygen has a higher nuclear charge.

Question 2

Which would have the greater first ionisation energy: Na or Na⁺? Explain your answer.

Day 5

Question 1

Why is the second ionisation energy of an atom always greater than the first?

Question 2

Why are cations always smaller than the corresponding atoms?

Day 6

Question 1

Between​​ Al2+​​ and​​ Mg²⁺, which ion requires more energy to remove another electron? Justify.

Question 2

Arrange the following species in order of increasing ionisation energy:
N³⁻, O²⁻, F⁻, Ne, Na⁺.
Explain the trend.