Second Ionization Energy

[JennyZhu1K]

In lecture, Dr. Lavelle said that the second ionization energy is ALWAYS higher. What if the second electron makes the element into a noble gas state such as Calcium? Would the ionization energy still be higher?

[Praveena Ratnavel - 1A]

The second ionization energy is always higher, even if the atom is an alkaline earth metal like calcium. This is because the ion is already positively charged, so removing an additional electron takes even more energy.

[Bryan Cheng 1H]

For alkaline earth metals (group 2), the second ionization energy is still higher (the second electron is still more tightly held due to less electron-electron repulsion and there is already a cation) but less so than other elements. For example, the second ionization energy of calcium is about 500 kJ/mol higher than the first ionization energy; the second ionization energy of potassium is over 2500 kJ higher than the first ionization energy.

[Elizabeth Kim 2K]

Hi! Even if the second electron makes the element into a noble gas state such as Calcium, the second ionization energy would still be higher. The second ionization energy is always higher than the first ionization energy because the first ionization energy removes an electron from a neutral atom while the second ionization energy removes an electron from a positive atom (cation). Since the electrons are tightly bound by the positive atom due to increased attraction force, it requires more energy to remove an electron. Hope this helps!

[Anna Furton]

The second ionization energy is always higher because when the atom becomes a cation (after one electron is removed), there is increased attraction between the remaining electrons and the nucleus. Even if removing another makes the element more stable, that doesn't change the fact that it requires a greater amount of energy to pull that electron away from the positively charged nucleus now that the attraction per electron is higher.

[SerenaSabedra]

No matter the element, removing a second electron requires an already positive atom to become more positive. This as a rule of thumb takes more energy than removing an electron from a neutral atom.

[Kathryn Heinemeier 3H]

it would still be higher because you're trying to remove an electron from a cation rather than a neutral ion so it would require more energy.

[Jane Wang 1E]

The second ionisation energy is always higher, because removing electron from a positive ion requires more energy compared removing a electron from a neutral atom.

[Niyati 1F]

Yes it would still be higher. It requires much more energy to remove an electron from a positively charged ion than a neutral atom.

[Chris Korban 1D]

If it were to go into a noble gas configuration it would definitely be higher because it satisfies the octet rule and therefore has a high affinity for those electrons and therefore the ionization energy is far greater than the first energy