Why does ionisation energy increase across a period?

As you go across the period, the nuclear charge (or number of protons increase) but the shielding (or the number of shells) stays the same as all of the elements are on the same period. This causes the nuclear attraction between the nucleus (that is positive) and outermost electron (that is negative) to increase, so the distance between them, also called the atomic radius, decreases.This attraction makes it harder to lose that electron and so the energy to remove it (the ionisation energy) increases as you go across the period

AP
Answered by Anjali P. Chemistry tutor

2327 Views

See similar Chemistry A Level tutors

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

Describe the changes in equilibrium of ethanol production from ethene and water (enthalpy of reaction is ∆H = - 46 kJ/mol) when: (a) a high pressure is applied; (b) ethanol concentration is increased; (c) temperature is increased; (d) a catalyst is used.


10cm^3 of 1M NaOH solution is mixed with 15cm^3 of 0.5M HCl, what is the resulting pH of the solution?


What is the difference between an isotopic and isoelectronic species?


Why does the first ionisation energy generally increase across a period? Explain why there are dips in energy between groups 2 and 3 and groups 5 and 6?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning