2nd Electron

[605823283]

Why is the 2nd electron harder to remove than any other electron?

[Antonia Valencia 2H]

According to the textbook, the second electron is harder to remove because the second electron must come from the noble-gas core. The electrons from this core have lower principal quantum numbers and are therefore closer to the nucleus. As a result, these electrons are strongly attracted to the nucleus, and hence, much more energy is required to remove the second electrons.

[Aanya Pramanik 1C]

The second electron is harder to remove because once the first electron is removed, the nucleus is able to pull in the remaining electrons tighter into the center of the ion. This tighter pull requires more energy to counteract to remove the second electron.