Which atoms have the lowest electronegativity

Atoms to the left on the periodic table B. Atoms to the right on the periodic table I C. Atoms with a large atomic radius O D.

Atoms with a small atomic radius. The periodic table has metallic elements on the left side, semi-metal or metalloids in the middle, and nonmetallic elements of the right side. Since, electronegativity of an atom tells of its power to attract electrons.

Metals give off electrons rather than attract electrons like non-metals; thus, metals have the lowest electronegativity with values less than 2. Helium, neon, and argon are not listed in the Pauling electronegativity scale, although in the Allred-Rochow scale, helium has the highest electronegativity. The trends are not very smooth among the transition metals and the inner transition metals, but are fairly regular for the main group elements, and can be seen in the charts below.

The difference in electronegativity between two bonded elements determines what type of bond they will form. When atoms with an electronegativity difference of greater than two units are joined together, the bond that is formed is an ionic bond , in which the more electronegative element has a negative charge, and the less electronegative element has a positive charge. As an analogy, you can think of it as a game of tug-of-war in which one team is strong enough to pull the rope away from the other team.

For example, sodium has an electronegativity of 0. Particular sodium and chloride ions are not "tied" together, but they attract each other very strong because of the opposite charges, and form a strong crystal lattice.

When atoms with an electronegativity difference of less than two units are joined together, the bond that is formed is a covalent bond , in which the electrons are shared by both atoms. When two of the same atom share electrons in a covalent bond, there is no electronegativity difference between them, and the electrons in the covalent bond are shared equally — that is, there is a symmetrical distribution of electrons between the bonded atoms.

These bonds are nonpolar covalent bonds. The electronegativities of nonmetals are generally high. Electronegativities generally increase from left to right across a period. This is due to an increase in nuclear charge. Alkali metals have the lowest electronegativities, while halogens have the highest. Because most noble gases do not form compounds, they do not have electronegativities. Note that there is little variation among the transition metals. Electronegativities generally decrease from top to bottom within a group due to the larger atomic size.

This indicates that fluorine has a high tendency to gain electrons from other elements with lower electronegativities.

We can use these values to predict what happens when certain elements combine. The following video shows this. Typically this exchange is between a metal and a nonmetal. For instance, sodium and chlorine will typically combine to form a new compound and each ion becomes isoelectronic with its nearest noble gas.

When we compare the EN values, we see that the electronegativity for Na is 0. The absolute difference between ENs is 0. This value is greater than 1. Use the link below to answer the following questions:. Skip to main content.