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Q.What is electronegativity? Explain why halogens possess highest electronegativity.

Assam AhsecAHSEC Higher Secondary (HS) 1st Year Examination 2018Subjective· 3mImportance★★★★★
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Electronegativity measures an atom's pull on bonding electrons; halogens top their periods because of small size, high nuclear charge, and being one electron short of a stable octet.

Electronegativity is defined as the relative tendency of an atom in a molecule to attract the shared pair of electrons of a covalent bond towards itself. Unlike ionization energy or electron affinity, it is not measured for an isolated atom but for an atom as part of a bond, and it has no fixed units (commonly expressed on the Pauling scale).

Why halogens have the highest electronegativity in their period:

  1. Small atomic size: halogens have the smallest atomic radii among the elements in their respective periods (excluding noble gases), so the nucleus is very close to the bonding electrons and attracts them strongly.
  2. High effective nuclear charge: halogens have seven valence electrons and a high nuclear charge with relatively poor shielding by other electrons in the same shell, giving a strong net pull on additional/shared electrons. …

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