PART B : CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

Question 1

Variation of the ionic radius across period 2

→Positive ions (cations)

Li+ > Be2+ > B3+
• From Li+ to B3+, the ionic radius decreases.
• All cations have the same eletronic configurations: 1s2
• This is called isoelectronic configuration.
• From Li+ to B3+, the proton number increases causing the Zeff increases as well.
• The attraction between nucleus and the remaining electrons becomes stronger causing the
• electron cloud shrink and the ionic radius will be smaller

→Between cations and anions

Drastic increase in ionic radius from B3+(1s2) and O2-(1s2 2s2 2p6) which makes ion O2- bigger than
B3+. It is because O2- ion has an additional shell compared to to B3+ ion. The shielding effect in O2-
ion is greater than B+ ion because the valence electrons in O2- ion are shielded by more number of
inner electrons.

→Negative ions (anions)

F- < O2-
• From O2- to F-, the ionic radius decreases.
• All anions have the same electronic configuration: 1s2 2s2 2p6
• This is called isoelectronic configuration.
• From O2- to F-, the proton number increases causing the Zeff increases as well.
• The attraction between nucleus and the valence electrons becomes stronger causing the electron
cloud shrink and the ionic radius will be smaller.
Question 2

Between Beryllium (Be) and Boron (B)

Electronic Configuration:

Be : 1s2 2s2
B : 1s2 2s2 2p1

• First electron is removed from the fully-filled 2s orbital in Be.

• First electron is removed from partially-filled 2p orbital of B.
• The first IE of Be is higher than B, eventhough B is smaller than Be.
• Fully-filled orbital is more stable than partially-filed orbital.

Between Nitrogen (N) and Oxygen (O)

Electronic configuration:
N : 1s2 2s2 2p3
O : 1s2 2s2 2p4

• First electron is removed from the half-filled 2p orbital in N.

• 1st electron in O is removed from partially-filled 2p orbital.
• The first IE of N is higher than O eventhough O is smaller than N.
• Half-filled orbital is more stable than partially-filled orbital.
PART C : NUMERACY SKILL

Question 3

a) IE2 / IE1 = 4562 / 496

= 9.20

IE3 / IE2 = 6910 / 4562

= 1.51

IE4 / 1E3 = 9543 / 6910

= 1.38

Sudden increase in ionization energy from IE1 to IE2. The second electron is removed from the
inner shell which has stable noble gas electron configuration and close to nucleus. More energy
needed to remove the second electron. Therefore, it has one valence electron. Valence electronic
configuration is 3s1. Y is located in group 1 and block s.

b) Electronic configuration :

Y : 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1

Ion Y+ : 1s2 2s2 2p6

c) Chemical equation :

4Y + O2 → 2YO
Oxide formed in basic

d) Y2O + H2O → 2YOH

Y2O + 2HCl → 2YCl + H2O
Element Y is Sodium.
 References
Ionic Radius – Definition & Trends in Periodic Table
https://byjus.com/chemistry/periodic-trends-in-ionic-radii-in-modern-periodic-table/
#:~:text=Trends%20in%20Ionic%20Radius%20Across%20a%20Period&text=In%20period
Chemistry Matriculation SK015 Study Guide, Chemistry Unit, Kedah Matriculation College
Ionic Trends in the Periodic Table
https://www.thoughtco.com/ionic-radius-trends-in-the-periodic-table-608789#:~:text=The
%20size%20of%20an%20element's,across%20a%20row%20or%20period.