Question

Which of the following mentioned property is more for nitrogen as compared to oxygen?

• A. Electron affinity
• B. Ionization energy
• C. Both (A) and (B)
• D. None Of These

Answer 1

The correct option is B

Ionization energy

Explanation for correct option:

B. Ionization energy

Ionization energy:

• Ionization energy is the amount of energy needed to remove an electron from the outermost shell of a neutral or ionic gaseous atom.
• “It is the energy required to remove an electron from an isolated gaseous atom (X) in its ground state.”
• The first ionization enthalpy for an element X can be depicted as:

$\mathrm{X}\left(\mathrm{g}\right)\to {\mathrm{X}}^{+}\left(\mathrm{g}\right)+{\mathrm{e}}^{-}$

• The ionization energy increases on moving across the period as there is a decrease in the size of atoms across a period.
• But in the case of Nitrogen and oxygen, the ionization energy of nitrogen is more than that of oxygen because oxygen is already unstable relative to nitrogen and by losing one electron it attains a stable half-filled orbital.
• So oxygen undergoes ionization at relatively lower energy and due to this reason, Nitrogen has more ionization energy as compared to oxygen.

Explanation for incorrect options:

Electron affinity increases on moving across a period, as the effective nuclear charge increases which more readily pulls these new electrons in. Thus, oxygen has more electron affinity than nitrogen. Thus, options A, C, and D are incorrect.

Hence, the correct option is B i.e. Ionization energy.