Question

Element with highest electronegativity is:
A. Nitrogen
B. Chlorine
C. Fluorine
D. Hydrogen

Answer 1

Hint: Electronegativity of an atom is the tendency of an atom to attract electrons from other atoms which are usually shared in a bond. As we are moving from left to right in the periodic table the electronegativity of the atoms increases and top to bottom in the group the electronegativity of the atoms decreases.

Complete step by step answer:
-Generally metals have low electronegativity value when compared to non-metals.
-The metallic character decreases from left to right in the periodic table in the periods so the electronegativity value increases.
-The given elements in the question are Nitrogen (N), Chlorine (Cl), Fluorine (F), and Hydrogen (H).
-The electronegativity values of the given elements are as follows.
-The Electronegativity value of Hydrogen is 2.1
-The Electronegativity value of Nitrogen is 3.04
-The Electronegativity value of Chlorine is 3 and
-The Electronegativity value of Fluorine is 4.
-We can arrange all the given elements in increasing order of their electronegativity are as follows.
H (2.1) < Cl (3) < N (3.04) < F (4).

-Therefore Fluorine has high electronegativity among the given elements.
-So, the correct option is C.


Note: If any element has less atomic size means the atom has high effective nuclear charge. If any atom or element has high effective nuclear charge then the atom or element accepts electrons very easily. So, the electronegativity is high in elements which have less atomic size.
Don’t be confused between electronegativity and electropositivity of elements. Both are not the same.