A sudden large jump between the values of second and third ionisation energies of an element would be associated with the electronic configuration

Options

A. `1s^(2)2s^(2)2p^(6)3s^(1)`
B. `1s^(2)2s^(2)2p^(6)3s^(2)3p^(1)`
C. `1s^(2)2s^(2)2p^(6) 3s^(2)3p^(2)`
D. `1s^(2)2s^(2)2p^(6)3s^(2)`

Answer

D

Explanation

A sudden large jump between the values of second and third ionization energies indicates that the first two elecrtrons is removed from the outermost shell while the third electron is removed form the stable configuration. This is possible only for
`1s^(2)2s^(2)2p^(6)3s^(2)`