Ionization vs. Ionization Energy

[Paula Dowdell 1F]

What is the difference between ionization and ionization energy? Is there a limit to ionization energy?

[Hena Sihota 1L]

Ionization refers to the conversion of atoms or molecules into ions by the transfer of electrons. Ionization energy is the minimum energy required to remove an electron from the ground state of a gaseous atom, molecule, or ion.

[Nishma Chakraborty 1J]

Hi!

Ionization refers to when an atom or molecule gains or loses electrons and becomes an ion (called a cation if it loses electrons, or an anion if it gains electrons).

Ionization energy is the minimum amount of energy necessary in order to remove an electron (the most loosely-bound one, aka the valence electron) from an atom. It’s a trend that increases from left to right across the periodic table, and decreases from top to bottom of a group. I hope this helps! :)