Lecturers : Dr PS Ramaripa

Email : suzan.ramaripa@ul.ac.za &

Office No 1009. N-block, First Floor.

Ext. : 2343

1
Consequences of e- Configuration
Effective nuclear charge (ENC)
Is the net positive charge felt by valence e-s
due to the presence of core e-s, e.g.,
 Effective nuclear charge

e- e-
e- e-
e- 4+ e-
5+ 6+
e- e-
e-

Beryllium Boron Carbon

5
Effective nuclear charge is the charge
experienced by an electron in a many-electron
atom.

The effective nuclear charge is not the same

as the charge on the nucleus because of the
shielding effect of the inner electrons.

Electrons are attracted to the nucleus, but

repelled by the electrons that screen it from
the nuclear charge.
 exceptions
• Zeff= Z-sigma
• Sigma- is a measure of the extent to which
intervening electrons screen the outer
most shell electron from nuclear pull it.
• K-shell(no e- in the inner shell) (1.0)
• L-shell(no e- in n-1 shell) (0.85)
• M-shell( no of remaining e- nth shell)
(0.35)
• Sigma for 3s1 e- =(0.35x0)+(0.85x8)=(1.0
x2)=8.8.therefore zeff=11-8.8=2.2
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 Trends in ENC
• In a group, the increase in the nuclear Effective
nuclear charge for
charge is balanced by an increase in the valence electrons

number of shielding electrons so that the

effective nuclear charge remains the F Ne Na
same.
+7 +8 +1
• Across the table , ENC felt by the valence
e- increases.
• Note the ENC is the same as the number Nuclear
charge
Shiel
ding
ENC

e‑
of valence e-. That is true as long as you
are dealing with neutral atoms C

Si
+6

+14
2

10
+4

+4

Ge +32 28 +4

12
Sizes of Atoms & Ions
Anions larger than parent atoms

Cations smaller than parent

atoms
 Trends: Atomic & Ionic Sizes
•Atomic size increases down a group
-ENC nearly constant but n increases.

•Atomic size decreases from L to R across

a period
-n remains constant while ENC increases.

Do exercises in your Tutorial book!!

Variation in atomic & ionic radii in
the periodic table
 Exercise
• The following ions are isoelectronic,
arrange this ions in order of the
decreasing size.
• K+, Cl-, Ca2+ and S2-
• Solution
• All ions has 18 electrons
• NB. In the series, size decrease an
the nuclear charge (atomic number)
increases. S16, Cl17, K19, Ca20
• S2-> Cl- >K+ > ca2+
Elements with similar properties have similar
outer shell e- configs:

Li 1s22s1
Na 1s22s22p63s1
K 1s22s22p63s23p64s1
.
.

Ionization: …………………………
 Ionization energy (IE)
The energy required to remove an e- from an
isolated, gaseous atom or ion in its ground state:

X(g) → X+(g) + e- IE1

X+(g) → X2+(g) + e- IE2, etc.

Removing an e- from a filled valence shell

requires the greatest amount of energy

Trend: IE increases from L to R across a

period, and decreases down a group.
IONAZATION ENERGY
c
PERIODIC TRENDS OF IONIZATION
ENERGY
 Electron Affinity (EA)
The potential energy change associated with
the addition of an e- to a gaseous atom or ion
in its ground state:

X(g) + e- → X-(g) EA1 < 0

X-(g) + e- → X2-(g) EA2 > 0

Trend: EA becomes more exothermic from L to

R across a period & from bottom to top in a
group.
EA, continued
 Electronegativity (χ)
Def: The power of an atom to attract bonding e-s
towards itself in a molecule.

• High χ ↔ greater attraction for shared e-s

•Atoms with low IE’s have low χ’s

Trend: χ increases from left to right across a

period, & decreases from top to bottom in a
group.
 Exercises
a) Why is the fifth ionization energy of carbon
so much larger than its fourth?

b) Why is the ionization energy of oxygen less

than that of nitrogen, even if oxygen is to the
right hand side of nitrogen?

c) For an oxygen atom, which requires more

energy, the addition of two e-s or the removal
of one e-?