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Lesson: Chapter 3 — The Structure of Matter

3.5. Patterns in the periodic table 3 of 10

Question 3

Why are ionization energies given for a mole of atoms rather than for one atom?

The right answer is the one marked above.

Because for a single atom this energy is a very small quantity. So the value is quoted for 6.022 × 1023 atoms — one mole — and the unit is kJ mol−1.

The energy per atom does not change with how many atoms you have; a mole is simply a convenient number to scale up to, so that the figures come out in units a person can read and compare.

Answer the question to continue.