Nitrogen (atomic number 7) and phosphorus (atomic number 15) belong to group 15
of the Periodic Table. Write the electronic configuration of these two elements.
Which of these will be more electronegative? Why?
Nitrogen (atomic number 7) and phosphorus (atomic number 15) belong to group 15 of the Periodic Table. Write the electronic configuration of these two elements. Which of these will be more electronegative? Why?
|
Element |
K L M |
|
Nitrogen Phosphorus |
2 5 2 8 5 |
Nitrogen is more electronegative than phosphorus. On moving down a group, the number of shell increases. Therefore, the valence electrons move away from the nucleus and the effective nuclear charge decreases. This causes the decrease in the tendency to attract electron and hence electronegativity decreases.
