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Chapter 22: Problem 11

Provide an explanation for the observation that helium, neon, and argon do not react directly with fluorine.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Helium, neon, and argon, being noble gases, have complete electron shells making them stable and chemically unreactive. On the other hand, fluorine is highly reactive and seeks to attract electrons to complete its own shell. However, since these noble gases are chemically inert and are not looking to lose or gain electrons, they do not react directly with fluorine.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Noble Gases

Helium, neon, and argon are all noble gases. Noble gases are known for their low reactivity. This is due to their full valence electron shells. Having a full shell provides a stable configuration that the atom would prefer to maintain, which reduces their tendency to react with other elements.
02

Consider Fluorine's Reactivity

Fluorine is one of the most reactive elements, and tends to accept electrons to achieve a full electron shell. However, even though fluorine is highly reactive, it cannot react with noble gases like Helium, Neon, and Argon because these elements already have stable, complete electron shells and are not looking to lose or gain electrons.
03

Conclusion

So the inability of helium, neon, and argon to react directly with fluorine can be attributed to the fact that these noble gases have complete valence electron shells and hence are chemically inert or unreactive.

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