Alkaline Earth Metals
Chemistry
Level
2
Alkaline earth metals have which of the following sets of traits?
Low electronegativity and positive electron affinity
Low electronegativity and negative electron affinity
High electronegativity and positive electron affinity
High electronegativity and negative electron affinity
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1 solution
Electronegativity increases from left to right across the periodic table. Since atoms of alkaline earth metals have full s sub-shells, there is a relatively high energy barrier to add more electrons, as they would have to enter the empty p sub-shells. Electron affinity is the change in energy ( measured in kJ/mole) that it takes to add an electron to the neutral atom (i.e. to form a negative ion). It would require energy to add an electron to an alkaline earth metal, since it is in a relatively favorable state and would reach an even more favorable state by losing two electrons.