PE=KQq/r

[MedPR]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I guess I'm still not understanding this..

Due to Cuolombic attraction, the most stable energy levels for the electron correspond to the closest proximity to the nucleus. This means that the energetics of the orbiting electron depend on the charge of the nucleus and the distance from the nucleus.

So the shielding by the inner electrons combined with the fact that they are already feeling less force from the nucleus (bc they are further away) is enough to cancel out the effect that increasing the radius has on decreasing the energy?

 

[pfaction]

Nucleus--1---2----3-----4------5-----6
Think of each number as a wall, and a magnet as the nucleus. Exactly, shielding will decrease the "pull" that the next "wall (=shell)" feels. If 6 is the valence, the more shells (#'s) the less pull (Zeff) it will feel! They'll want to fly off due to repulsion, which is why ionization energy decreases as you go R->L, T->B.