The first four ionization energies for an imaginary element, X z are E 1 = 102 kcal, E 2 = 186 kcal, E 3 = 4,021 kcal, and E 4 = 4,862 kcal. The number of valence electrons most probable as indicated by this ionization data is:

0
1
2
3
4

Question

The first four ionization energies for an imaginary element, X z are E 1 = 102 kcal, E 2 = 186 kcal, E 3 = 4,021 kcal, and E 4 = 4,862 kcal. The number of valence electrons most probable as indicated by this ionization data is:

0
1
2
3
4

jfraser · Answer

it seems like the first two electrons are fairly easy to remove, then there's a HUGE increase in the difficulty to remove electrons. Does that third electron come from a valence level, most likely?