The First Ionization Energies of Phosphorus and of Sulfur Are

question 157

Multiple Choice

The first ionization energies of phosphorus and of sulfur are 1012 and 1000 kJ/mol.Why is IE₁ for S lower than that of P when the usual trend is for IE to increase across a row?

• A)Z_eff decreases from left to right on the periodic table.
• B)Sulfur is smaller than phosphorus.
• C)More electrons in a subshell decrease orbital energy.
• D)An electron from phosphorus must be removed from a lower-energy subshell.
• E)Removing an electron from sulfur produces a half-filled subshell and reduces electron-electron repulsions.

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