1st I.P of nitrogen is higher than oxygen. Explain.

Answer

To explain why the first ionization potential (I.P.) of nitrogen is higher than that of oxygen, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Define Ionization Potential
Ionization potential (or ionization energy) is the energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron from an isolated gaseous atom in its ground state.

### Step 2: Compare the Electronic Configurations
- **Nitrogen (N)** has the atomic number 7, and its electronic configuration is \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^3\).
- **Oxygen (O)** has the atomic number 8, and its electronic configuration is \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^4\).

### Step 3: Analyze the Electron Configuration
- In nitrogen, the 2p subshell has three electrons, which means it has a half-filled configuration (\(2p^3\)).
- In oxygen, the 2p subshell has four electrons (\(2p^4\)), which is not half-filled.

### Step 4: Stability of Half-Filled Orbitals
- Half-filled orbitals (like in nitrogen) are more stable due to symmetry and exchange energy. This stability makes it harder to remove an electron from nitrogen compared to oxygen.
- In contrast, oxygen has one more electron in the 2p subshell, which introduces electron-electron repulsion among the paired electrons in the 2p orbitals, making it relatively less stable.

### Step 5: Conclusion
Due to the extra stability associated with the half-filled 2p subshell in nitrogen, it requires more energy to remove an electron from nitrogen than from oxygen. Therefore, the first ionization potential of nitrogen is higher than that of oxygen.

### Summary
- **I.P. of Nitrogen > I.P. of Oxygen** because nitrogen has a half-filled p subshell, which is more stable than the configuration of oxygen.

---