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H(g) → H+(g) + e-
The reason for the discrepancy is due to the electron configuration of these
elements and Hund's rule. For beryllium, the first ionization potential electron
comes from the 2s orbital, although ionization of boron involves a 2p electron.
For both nitrogen and oxygen, the electron comes from the 2p orbital, but the
spin is the same for all 2p nitrogen electrons, while there is a set of paired
electrons in one of the 2p oxygen orbitals.
Key Points
Ionization energy is the minimum energy required to remove an electron
from an atom or ion in the gas phase.
The most common units of ionization energy are kilojoules per mole
(kJ/M) or electron volts (eV).
Ionization energy exhibits periodicity on the periodic table.
The general trend is for ionization energy to increase moving from left to
right across an element period. Moving left to right across a period, atomic
radius decreases, so electrons are more attracted to the (closer) nucleus.
The general trend is for ionization energy to decrease moving from top to
bottom down a periodic table group. Moving down a group, a valence shell
is added. The outermost electrons are further from the positive-charged
nucleus, so they are easier to remove.