Which statement about electronegativity is accurate?

Which statement about electronegativity is accurate?

• A. Electronegativity is greatest on the left and bottom
• B. Electronegativity is constant across the table
• C. Electronegativity is greatest for noble gases
• D. Electronegativity is greatest on the right and upper portion of the periodic table

Answer: (D)

Electronegativity increases as you move to the right across a period and up a group, so the elements with the greatest tendency to attract electron density in a bond are in the upper-right corner of the periodic table (with fluorine at the top). This happens because across a period the nuclear charge increases while shielding changes little, so the effective positive pull on bonding electrons is stronger. Climbing up a group also shortens the atomic radius and enhances this pull. Noble gases are not good at attracting electrons in bonds because they already have filled valence shells, so their electronegativity isn’t meaningful in the usual sense. Therefore the statement that electronegativity is greatest on the right and upper portion is the accurate one.

Electronegativity increases as you move to the right across a period and up a group, so the elements with the greatest tendency to attract electron density in a bond are in the upper-right corner of the periodic table (with fluorine at the top). This happens because across a period the nuclear charge increases while shielding changes little, so the effective positive pull on bonding electrons is stronger. Climbing up a group also shortens the atomic radius and enhances this pull. Noble gases are not good at attracting electrons in bonds because they already have filled valence shells, so their electronegativity isn’t meaningful in the usual sense. Therefore the statement that electronegativity is greatest on the right and upper portion is the accurate one.