Coulomb's law and periodic trends Transitional Reasoning Practice

Questions

1. 1.

   A chemistry student applies Coulomb's law, $F \propto \frac{q_1 q_2}{r^2}$, to explain periodic trends across Period 3 of the periodic table. When comparing magnesium (atomic number 12) to sulfur (atomic number 16), the student notes that sulfur has a significantly higher first ionization energy. Based on Coulombic principles and atomic structure, which statement best explains why sulfur requires more energy to remove a valence electron?

   • A) Sulfur possesses a greater effective nuclear charge acting on valence electrons at a slightly smaller distance, producing a stronger attractive force that requires more energy to overcome.
   • B) Magnesium has more inner shielding shells than sulfur, which increases the distance term in Coulomb's law and weakens the net attractive force.
   • C) Sulfur experiences weaker valence electron repulsions, which allows its nuclear charge to pull electrons without any shielding effect.
   • D) Magnesium has a higher effective nuclear charge because having fewer valence electrons eliminates electron-electron repulsion entirely.

Answers and step-by-step solutions appear after you finish the test.