Write equations that show the processes that describe the
first, second, and third ionization energies of a chlorine
atom. Which process would require the least amount of
energy?

Question

Accepted Answer

welcome back everyone in this example. We need to give the first three ionization equations for bromine and determine the process with the least energy. So we should recall that ionization energy is represented by capital I sub N. Where N would be our energy level where are electron is removed. And recall that ionization energy refers to the minimum amount of energy that is required to remove an electron from an atom. So from the prompt we are given our neutral bromine atom here and it's important that we mentioned that this is a neutral atom because our valence electrons for bromine which we would recognize on our periodic table being in group seven A. Has seven valence electrons are all going to be far from the nucleus of our bromine atom. And so to write our equation we would just draw an arrow where since these electrons the valence electrons for bromine are simple to remove because they're far from the nucleus of bromine, we would form the br Pluskat ion. And with that removal of an electron we would just say plus that one electron that we removed of its seven valence electrons. And so this would describe our first ionization energy. So we would write I and then our subscript would be one. Now we need to give three ionization equations. So we need to move on to our second ionization equation which is for the second ionization energy here where we would begin with our charged adam of roaming now with A plus one charge. So we have B. R plus. And this charge is important to mention now because now that we have a charge on the nucleus of our bromine atom that is creating an attraction towards our nucleus of these electrons. And so now these electrons are going to be closer to the nucleus and harder to remove because it's going to require more energy to remove an electron here. And so we would say that at the second ionization energy we would form and sorry, wrong pen we would form a higher caddy in charge being our br two plus Catalan where we now have released our second valence electron. And again this required a lot more energy than starting out with our neutral bromine atom. Because now with this charge on our bromine atom we have created an attraction of the electrons towards the positively charged nucleus. And now for our third and final ionization equation we have our third ionization energy where we require an even greater amount of energy to remove an electron from our BR two plus kati on where we would form from a third removal of an electron. The BR three plus cat. I own with our third released valence electron. And so for our final answer we have these three equations that we have outlined for each of our ionization energies. And then we would also want to explain that the first ionization energy is the one with the least energy. And that is because we have a neutral adam. So electrons are and let's say specifically So valence electrons are the farthest from the nucleus. I'm sorry, that should say are the furthest from the nucleus of brought me. So the first ionization energy is the least or is the energy level with the least energy because we have a neutral atom. And so the valence electrons are the furthest from the nucleus of bromine. And so this explanation would also complete our answer here. So everything highlighted in yellow represents our final answer. I hope everything I explained was clear. If you have any questions, please leave them down below and I will see everyone in the next practice video.

Write equations that show the processes that describe the first, second, and third ionization energies of a chlorine atom. Which process would require the least amount of energy?

Verified Solution

Key Concepts

Ionization Energy

Chlorine Atom and Its Electron Configuration

Trends in Ionization Energies