The lighter alkaline earth metals are very important in animal and pla...
The second ionization enthalpies of the alkaline earth metals are indeed smaller than those of the corresponding alkali metals. This is because the second electron in alkaline earth metals is removed from a cation that already has a noble gas configuration (i.e., a filled valence shell). The removal of this electron is therefore more difficult than the first electron, but easier than the subsequent electrons, which involve the removal of electrons from inner shells.
The reason given for the assertion is also correct. When an alkaline earth metal atom loses its first electron to form a cation, it attains a noble gas configuration (e.g., Mg+ has the same electron configuration as neon). Therefore, the second electron must be removed from a cation that has a noble gas configuration, which requires less energy than removing an electron from a neutral atom.
Thus, both the assertion and reason are correct, and the reason justifies the assertion.
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The lighter alkaline earth metals are very important in animal and pla...
**Assertion: The second ionisation enthalpies of the alkaline earth metals are smaller than the metals.**
**Reason: The second electron is to be removed from the cation have inert gas configuration.**
The correct option is A, which states that both the assertion and the reason are correct, and the reason is the correct explanation of the assertion.
Explanation:
**Ionization Enthalpy:**
Ionization enthalpy is the energy required to remove an electron from a gaseous atom or ion. It represents the strength of the attraction between the nucleus and the outermost electron.
**Alkaline Earth Metals:**
The alkaline earth metals include beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), and radium (Ra). These elements belong to Group 2 of the periodic table and have two valence electrons.
**First Ionization Enthalpy:**
The first ionization enthalpy of an element is the energy required to remove one electron from an atom in the gaseous state. The first ionization enthalpies of the alkaline earth metals are relatively low compared to other elements in their respective periods. This is because the outermost electron in these elements is in an s orbital, which is farther away from the nucleus and experiences less effective nuclear charge compared to electrons in p or d orbitals.
**Second Ionization Enthalpy:**
The second ionization enthalpy is the energy required to remove a second electron from a cation formed by removing one electron. It is generally higher than the first ionization enthalpy because removing an electron from a positively charged ion requires overcoming the increased electrostatic attraction between the remaining electrons and the positively charged nucleus.
**Inert Gas Configuration:**
The inert gas configuration refers to the electron configuration of noble gases, which have a stable configuration with filled s and p orbitals in their outermost shells. The alkaline earth metals have two valence electrons, and when they lose these electrons, they achieve a stable configuration similar to the nearest noble gas in their period.
**Explanation of the Reason (R):**
The reason states that the second electron is to be removed from the cation, which has an inert gas configuration. This means that after losing the first electron, the resulting cation has a stable, noble gas-like electron configuration with filled s and p orbitals in its outermost shell. Since the electron is being removed from a stable configuration, it requires less energy compared to removing the first electron.
**Explanation of the Assertion (A) and Reason (R):**
The assertion states that the second ionization enthalpies of the alkaline earth metals are smaller than the metals, which is true. The reason explains that this is because the second electron is being removed from a cation with an inert gas configuration, which is also true. The reason provided a correct explanation for the assertion, as the stability of the inert gas configuration lowers the energy required to remove the second electron.
Hence, the correct option is A: A and R both are correct, and R is the correct explanation of A.
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