Explain why the first ionization energy of \(\mathrm{Mg}\) is greater that of \(\mathrm{Na},\) whereas the second ionization of Na is greater than that of Mg.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The first ionization energy of Mg is greater than that of Na because Mg has a greater effective nuclear charge, holding its electrons more tightly. The second ionization energy of Na is greater than that of Mg because removing a second electron from Na disrupts a stable noble gas configuration, making it harder to remove.

Step by step solution

01

Consider the electron configuration for Na and Mg

Sodium (Na) has an electronic configuration of 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1 while Magnesium (Mg) has an electronic configuration of 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2. This means that the outermost electron of Na is in the third shell and the outermost electron of Mg is also in the third shell.
02

Understand the First Ionization Energy

First ionization energy refers to the energy required to remove the first electron from an atom. For Mg, it's harder to remove the first electron compared to Na because Mg has a greater effective nuclear charge than Na. Mg has 2 electrons in the outermost shell and has stronger attraction to nucleus and more energy is needed to remove one of them.
03

Understand the Second Ionization Energy

The second ionization energy refers to the energy required to remove a second electron from an atom. For Na, after the first electron is removed, the remaining configuration is the same as neon (Ne), a noble gas, and it is energetically unfavorable to remove an electron from a stable, complete electron shell configuration. Therefore, it takes much more energy to remove the second electron from Na compared to Mg.
04

Summarize the Results

To summarize, the first ionization energy of Mg is greater than that of Na because Mg has a greater effective nuclear charge. The second ionization energy of Na is greater than that of Mg because removing a second electron from Na disrupts a stable noble gas configuration. This is why Mg has a higher first ionization energy than Na, and why Na has a higher second ionization energy than Mg.

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