Question

IP is influenced by:
A. size of atom
B. effective nuclear charge
C. electrons present in inner shell
D. all of above

Answer 1

As we know that IP is ionization potential, which is the amount of energy required to remove an electron from a molecule or an isolated atom. IP has many applications like in determining the relative reactivity of metals.

Complete answer:
- As we know that there are many factors that are found to affect the IP. Some of them are: size of atom, effective nuclear charge, electrons present in the inner shell. Let’s discuss about each in brief:
- size of atom-
As the size of the atom increases, ionization potential of that atom will decrease.
- effective nuclear charge-
It is found that higher the effective nuclear charge of an atom, higher will be its ionization potential.
- electrons present in inner shell-
It is found that when more electrons are present in the inner shells, the screening effect will be more and hence, lower will be the effective nuclear charge. Therefore, lower will be the ionization potential.

Hence, we can conclude that the correct option is (d), that is: IP is influenced by all the given factors that are size of atom, effective nuclear charge, electrons present in the inner shell.

Note: - As we know that ionization potential increases from left to right in a period and decreases from top to bottom in a group.
- Helium atoms are found to have the highest ionization potential, whereas francium atoms have the lowest ionization potential.