Chapter 1 Review Questions
1. Boron is an element in Group 13 of the Periodic Table. Boron has two isotopes.
a. Deduce the number of i protons, ii neutrons, and iii electrons in oneneutral atom of the isotope 11B 5.
b. State the relative masses and charges of:
i an electron
ii a neutron
iii a proton
2. Zirconium, Zr, and hafnium, Hf, are metals. An isotope of zirconium has 40 protons and 91 nucleons.
a. i. Write the isotopic symbol for this isotope of zirconium.
ii. State the number of neutrons present in one atom of this isotope.
b. The symbol for a particular ion of hafnium ion is 180 Hf 72 2+. Deduce the number of electrons that are
present in one of these hafnium ions.
c. The subatomic particles present in zirconium, and hafnium are electrons, neutrons, and protons. A
beam of protons is fired into an electric field produced by two charged plates, as shown in the diagram.
i. Describe how the beam of protons behaves when it passes through the gap between the charged plates.
ii. Explain your answer.
d. Describe what happens when a beam of neutrons passes through the gap between the charged plates.
3. a. Describe the structure of an atom, giving details of the subatomic particles present.
b. Explain the terms atomic number and nucleon number.
c. Copy and complete the table:
d. Why are atoms neutral?
e. An oxygen atom has 8 protons in its [Link] can't it have 9 protons?
f. When deducing the relative mass of an atom, the electrons are not used in the calculation. Explain why
not.
4. The symbols below describe two isotopes of the element uranium.
a. State the meaning of the term isotope.
b. State two ways in which these two isotopes of uranium are identical.
c. State how these isotopes differ.
d. State the number of electrons present in one U2+ ion.
5. The table below shows the two naturally occurring isotopes of chlorine.
a. Copy and complete the table
b. The relative atomic mass of chlorine is 35.5. What does this tell you about the relative abundance of
the two naturally occurring isotopes of chlorine?
c. Magnesium chloride contains magnesium ions, Mg2+, and chloride ions, Cl−.
i. Why is a magnesium positively charged?
ii. Why has a chloride ion a single negative charge?
6. The sketch graph shows the 13 successive ionisation energies of aluminium.
a. Define the term first ionisation energy.
b. how does the graph provide evidence for the existence of three electron shells in an aluminium atom?
c. Write an equation, including state symbols, to represent the 2nd ionisation energy of aluminium.
d. Write the electronic configuration of an aluminium ion, Al3+, using 1s2 notation.
7 The table shows the first ionisation energies, IE1, in kJ mol−1, of the elements in Period 3 of the Periodic
Table.
Element Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
IE1 494 736 577 786 1060 1000 1260 1520
a. Why is there a general increase in the value of IE1 across the period?
b. Explain why has aluminium a lower value of IE1 than magnesium?
c. Write the electronic configuration for argon (Z = 18) using 1s2 notation.
d. Copy and complete the diagram below for the 15 electrons in phosphorus by:
i. adding labels for the other sub-shells
ii. showing how the electrons are arranged.
e. Predict a value for the first ionisation energy for potassium which has one more proton than argon.
8. a. State the meaning of the term atomic orbital.
b. Draw diagrams to show the shape of:
i. an s orbital
ii. a p orbital.
c. Element X has the electronic configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d8 4s2.
i. Which blocks in the Periodic Table element X belongs to?
ii. State the maximum number of electrons in a d sub-shell.
d. Element X forms an ion of type X2+.
i Write the full electronic configuration for this ion using 1s2 notation.
ii. Write the symbol for the sub-shell that begins to fill after the 3d and 4s are completely full.
9. The first ionisation energies of several elements with consecutive atomic numbers are shown in the
graph. The letters are not the symbols of the elements.
a. Which of the elements A to I belong to Group 1 in the Periodic Table. Explain your answer.
b. Which of the elements A to I could have the electronic configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2?
c. Explain the rise in first ionisation energy between element E and element G.
d. Estimate the 1st ionisation energy of element J.
e. The successive ionisation energies of element A are shown in the next sketch graph.
What information does this graph give about how the electrons are arranged in shells for element A?
10. a. Define the following:
i. 1st ionisation energy
ii. 3rd ionisation energy.
b. Give the equations representing:
i. the 1st ionisation energy of magnesium
ii. the 3rd ionisation energy of magnesium.
c. which are the ionisation energies represented by the equations below?
i. Mg3+(g) → Mg4+(g) + e−
ii. Al5+(g) → Al6+(g) + e−
11 The graph shows a sketch of log10 (ionisation energy) against number of electrons removed for
magnesium. Use this graph to answer the following questions.
a. Why are the first two electrons relatively easy to remove?
b. Why is there a sharp rise in ionisation energy when the third electron is removed?
c. What information does the graph give about the electron arrangement of magnesium?
d. Construct the equation for the ionisation energy marked X (the 5th ionisation energy).
12. a. The table shows the first five ionisation energies for five elements (A to E). For each one, state
which group the element belongs to.
b. Explain your reasoning behind your answer for element E.
c. Sketch a graph to show how log10 (ionisation energy) for phosphorus (atomic number 15) varies when
plotted against number of electrons removed.
13. a. Define the term first ionisation energy.
b. Sketch a graph to show how log10 (ionisation energy) for chlorine (atomic number 17) varies when
plotted against number of electrons removed.
c. Explain the shape of the graph you have drawn.