Which of the following structures is associated with biggest jump between the second and third ionization energy ?

Options

A. `1s^(2)2s^(2) 2p^(6)3s^(1)`
B. `1s^(2)2s^(2)2p^(5)`
C. `1s^(2)2s^(2)2p^(6)`
D. `1s^(2)2s^(2)2p^(6)3s^(2)3p^(2)`

Answer

To determine which structure is associated with the biggest jump between the second and third ionization energy, we need to analyze the electronic configurations of the elements in question. The jump in ionization energy typically occurs when an electron is removed from a stable electron configuration, such as a filled or half-filled subshell.

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify the Elements**: We need to look at the elements given in the question. Let's assume we have elements A, B, C, and D with their respective electronic configurations.

2. **Write the Ground State Electronic Configurations**:
- For example:
- Element A: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p¹
- Element B: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p²
- Element C: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p³
- Element D: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁴

3. **Calculate the First Ionization Energy**:
- The first ionization energy involves removing one electron from the outermost shell.
- For Element A, removing one electron gives: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁰ (removal from 3p¹).
- For Element B, it becomes: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p¹.
- For Element C, it becomes: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p².
- For Element D, it becomes: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p³.

4. **Calculate the Second Ionization Energy**:
- For Element A, the second ionization energy would involve removing another electron, leading to a configuration of 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s².
- For Element B, it would be 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s¹.
- For Element C, it would be 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s².
- For Element D, it would be 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p².

5. **Calculate the Third Ionization Energy**:
- For Element A, the third ionization energy would involve removing an electron from a stable configuration, resulting in 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s¹.
- For Element B, it would be 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s⁰ (removing from 3s¹).
- For Element C, it would be 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s¹.
- For Element D, it would be 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s².

6. **Identify the Jump in Ionization Energies**:
- The biggest jump in ionization energy occurs when we remove an electron from a stable configuration (like a filled or half-filled subshell).
- For example, if Element C has a half-filled configuration (3p³), removing an electron from this configuration to form 3p² will require significantly more energy than removing from a filled configuration.

7. **Conclusion**:
- After analyzing the configurations, we find that the element with the biggest jump between the second and third ionization energy is the one where the removal of the third electron disrupts a stable configuration.