First ionisation energy down group 2
Learning outcomes
After studying this page, you should be able to:
- describe and explain the trend in atomic radius down group 2.
First ionisation energy
The table shows first ionisation energy values for the common elements in group 2.
| Element | Symbol | Atomic number | First ionisation energy /kJ mol–1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beryllium | Be | 4 | 900 |
| Magnesium | Mg | 12 | 738 |
| Calcium | Ca | 20 | 590 |
| Strontium | Sr | 38 | 550 |
| Barium | Ba | 56 | 503 |
Description of the trend
The graph shows how the first ionisation energy varies down group 2:
- as you go down group 2, the first ionisation energy decreases.
When you click on the download symbol, you will be able to download the graph as an image file or pdf file, save its data, annotate it, and print it. Note that graphs will be watermarked.
Explanation of the trend
Going down group 2:
- there are more filled shells between the nucleus and the outer electrons …
- these shield the outer electrons from the attraction of the nucleus …
- the radius of the atom increases, so the distance between the nucleus and the outer electrons increases …
- therefore the force of attraction between the nucleus and outer electrons is reduced …
- so less energy is needed to remove an outer electron.
You might expect the first ionisation energy to increase because the nuclear charge increases. This does not happen, because the factors described in the Explanation have a greater influence on the value of the first ionisation energy.
