Question

successive value of ionization energies of an element are 4.3,18.6,1412,2,3418 eV respectively.How many electrons are there in the valence shell of the atom

Answer 1

1. There are 2 valence shell electrons in the element.

2. This is because the first two values 4.3 and 18.6 are very small in comparison to other two.

3. This leads to the conclusion that the two valence electrons are present, on removal of which the ion becomes stable noble gas configuration and knocking out further electrons requires very large amount of energy.