Carbon Electron Affinity [ENDORSED]

[Jason Muljadi 2C]

I asked this question in a previous forum but it didn't get answered.

Why is it that carbon has a higher affinity than nitrogen when nitrogen is at the right of the carbon? I thought that as you go more right, there is a higher electron affinity. What is the exception with carbon that makes it have a higher electron affinity? Or am I looking at electron affinity the wrong way?

[Nina Gautam 1K]

Carbon has a greater electron affinity because a half-filled p subshell is more stable than one that is 2/3 full. The overall trend that electron affinity increases across a period is not absolute; there are exceptions

[Gianna Apoderado 1B]

Like Nina said above, periodic trends are not always 100%! There are some exceptions to the "rules" that apply generally to the elements.

[Rakhi Ratanjee 1D]

Since Oxygen has a lower electron affinity than carbon, does this exception carry forth to all the elements in group 15 since the subshell would be filled the same, or it it exclusive to oxygen?