Question

In period 2 element ‘A’ is to the right of element ‘B’
1. The element ‘A’ would probably have a _______ (smaller/larger) atomic size than ‘B’
2. The element ‘B’ would probably have________(lower/higher) ionization potential than ‘A’
3. The element ‘A’ would have (lesser/higher) electron affinity than ‘B’
4. Nuclear charge of element ‘B’ would be ________ (less/ more) than element ‘A’
5. If an element ‘C’ had a low electronegativity and ionization potential it would have more tendency to__(gain/lose) electrons.

Answer 1

Period 2 has the following elements Li, Br, B, C, N, O F, Ne. Elements from Boron to fluorine are the parent elements of their respective groups. Recall the general trend in size, ionization enthalpy, nuclear charge, and electron affinity in the s and p block elements or 2nd-row elements.

Complete step-by-step answer: To get the answer to these questions we will first discuss all the general trend asked in the questions then attempt the solutions
i. Atomic size: Going down the group we observe the addition of a shell/orbital which increases the size, and in going along the period the size decreases as there is an increase in the nuclear charge, which results in the decrease in the size of elements along the period (from left to right). From this statement, we can conclude that the nuclear charge increases throughout the period as it is inversely proportional to the size.
ii. Electronegativity: the tendency of atoms to attract a shared pair of electrons in a covalent bond is known as electronegativity. Moving left to right in the periodic table electronegativity increases due to an increase in the nuclear charge.
iii. Electron affinity: The amount of energy liberated when an electron is added to the outermost orbital of the atom at a gaseous state is known as electron affinity. The value of electron affinity decreases down the group and increases throughout the period.
iv. Ionization enthalpy: The amount of energy required to remove one electron from the outermost orbital of an atom in the gaseous state is called ionization enthalpy.
Now, since we have a clear idea about the general trends in the periodic table, let's solve the questions asked. Remember the element ‘A’ is towards the right side of the periodic table and element ‘B’ is towards the left side of the periodic table.
1. Since the size decreases along the period(from left to right), the size of element ‘A’ would be smaller than element ‘B’
2. Element ‘B’ would have lower ionization enthalpy than ‘A’, as ionization enthalpy increases along the period due to the decrease in atomic size.
3. The higher value of the nuclear charge of element ‘A’ will result in the higher value of electron affinity.
4. The nuclear charge of an element is inversely proportional to the size of the atom, hence the larger size element ‘B’ will have a less nuclear charge.
5. If the element ‘C’ has low electronegativity and ionization potential it would tend to lose electrons

Note: All the trend discussed in this question are concerning the given information of element ‘A’ and element ‘B’, these trends are not universal, as these trends are more supportive in ‘s and p’ block of the periodic table and have higher exception rate in ‘d and f’ block elements, because of influence of other factors.