Electron Affinity Explanation

[Amy Contreras 1I]

I had a question asking to rank elements in increasing order of electron affinity. I have two I'm confused about:

a) Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Fluorine
I ranked these as C, N, O, F but the answer was actually N, C, O, F

b) Chlorine, Sulfur, Oxygen, Neon
I ranked these as S, O, Cl, Ne but the answer was actually Ne, O, S, Cl

Could someone explain how to get to these answers? Does Fluorine being the most electronegative have a major factor in this?

[Sai Alapati 3K]

Since N has a half filled p orbital it will be more stable and so when an electron is added there is less energy released, but for for C, O, F there is more energy released as adding an electron makes them more stable and F would have the high electron affinity as it becomes very stable since it gains an octet when an electron is added. Electron affinity is dependent on how stable an atom becomes and the more stable it becomes the more energy released and the higher the electron affinity. Ne would be last since its a noble gas and is already stable.