Sodium forms Na^+ and not Na^ 2+ because:

JEE Main Chemistry question

Sodium forms and not because:

(A)Sodium contains only one electron in outermost shell
(B)First ionization potential is small and the difference in first and second ionization potentials is very largeCorrect
(C)Radius of is much smaller than Na
(D)None of the above

Answer: (B)

Solution

Although sodium does have only one valence electron (A, a true but incomplete explanation), the decisive reason it never forms is the enormous jump between its first ionisation energy (removing the lone valence electron, relatively easy) and its second ionisation energy (which would require breaking into the

See the full step-by-step solution

Create a free account to read the complete working, and practise questions like this in a timed test.

Create a free account

Question ID VK-137940