IChO 2003 · Theory problem 21

A second-period element from its ionisation energies

Which second period (row) element has the first six ionization energies (\(IE\) in electron volts, eV) listed below?

\(IE_1\) \(IE_2\) \(IE_3\) \(IE_4\) \(IE_5\) \(IE_6\)
11 24 48 64 392 490

a) \(\ce{B}\) ( )
b) \(\ce{C}\) ( )
c) \(\ce{N}\) ( )
d) \(\ce{O}\) ( )
e) \(\ce{F}\) ( )

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  1. b) Carbon, \(\ce{C}\). Mark the box beside option b).

Solution

21. The decisive feature is the large increase between the fourth and fifth ionization energies:

\[ IE_4=64\ \mathrm{eV}, \qquad IE_5=392\ \mathrm{eV}. \]

This jump indicates that removing the first four electrons exhausts the outer shell. The fifth electron must then be removed from an inner shell, where electrons are much more strongly bound to the nucleus. Thus, the element has four valence electrons.

The second-period element with four valence electrons is carbon, whose ground-state electron configuration is

\[ 1s^2\,2s^2\,2p^2. \]

The first four ionizations remove the two \(2p\) and two \(2s\) electrons. The fifth and sixth remove the two inner-shell \(1s\) electrons, accounting for their much higher ionization energies.

Therefore, the correct choice is b) \(\ce{C}\).

The answers were checked against the official answers published by the organisers.