Question

The outermost electronic configuration of the most electronegative element is

• A. $2s^{2}2p^3$
• B. $2p^{2}2p^4$
• C. $2s^{2}2p^5$
• D. $3s^{2}3p^5$

Answer 1

The correct option is C $2s^{2}2p^5$

Electronegativity is a measure of an atom's ability to attract shared electrons to itself. On the periodic table, electronegativity generally increases as you move from left to right across a period and decreases as you move down a group. Hence, the most electronegative element is fluorine having atomic number 9, and electronic configuration is $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^5.$