Which element is the most electronegative?

Which element is the most electronegative?

• A. Fluorine
• B. Oxygen
• C. Nitrogen
• D. Chlorine

Answer: (A)

Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom to attract electrons in a chemical bond. It generally increases across a period and decreases down a group. Fluorine is at the far right of the second period and is the smallest among these elements, so its bonding electrons feel a very high effective nuclear charge with minimal shielding. That strong pull makes it attract shared electrons more than any other element, giving it the highest electronegativity on the common scales. Oxygen is highly electronegative but slightly less than fluorine; chlorine is larger with more shielding and thus its pull is weaker than fluorine. So fluorine stands out as the most electronegative.

Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom to attract electrons in a chemical bond. It generally increases across a period and decreases down a group. Fluorine is at the far right of the second period and is the smallest among these elements, so its bonding electrons feel a very high effective nuclear charge with minimal shielding. That strong pull makes it attract shared electrons more than any other element, giving it the highest electronegativity on the common scales. Oxygen is highly electronegative but slightly less than fluorine; chlorine is larger with more shielding and thus its pull is weaker than fluorine. So fluorine stands out as the most electronegative.