Which element has the highest electronegativity in the periodic table?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Fluorine
- Step 1: Electronegativity increases across a period from left to right and decreases down a group due to increasing effective nuclear charge and smaller atomic radius.
- Step 2: Fluorine sits at the top right of the halogen group (excluding noble gases), having the smallest atomic radius and highest effective nuclear pull among non-inert elements.
- Step 3: On the Pauling scale, fluorine has the highest electronegativity value of approximately .
Answer
Fluorine.
Why not the others: Oxygen has the second-highest electronegativity (3.44); Chlorine has high electron affinity but lower electronegativity (3.16); Nitrogen has an electronegativity of 3.04.
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