Thursday, October 7, 2010

Why Big Fr and Hungry F

1. Francium is the biggest element on the periodic table  because it has the most electron shells and has only one valence electron, which makes the attraction between the valence shell and the nucleus lower. It is also the element with the lowest Ionization Energy and Electronegativity because since it is the largest atom, it has the lowest capability to gain an electron, and requires the lowest amount of energy to lose electrons.

2. Helium is the smallest atom because it has only one electron shell, in which it is full, which makes the attraction between the nucleus and the valence shell the greatest. It has the highest ionization energy because since it is the smallest atom, the attraction between the electrons and the nucleus are the greatest out of all the other elements, which accounts for helium's high rate of attracting valence electrons.

3. Noble gases do not have electronegativity values because they already has a full valence shell, which means they have no capability of losing or gaining electrons.

4. Flourine has the highest electronegativity because since it is the smallest non-noble gas element, it requires the most energy to lose an electron because the attraction between its valence electrons and nucleus is greatest.