Metallic Character
How does the metallic character of elements generally vary as one moves down a group in the periodic table and why?
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About This Question
- Subject
- chemistry
- Chapter
- classification of elements and periodicity in properties
- Topic
- metallic character
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
Increases because ionization enthalpy decreases
Metallic character refers to the tendency of an atom to lose electrons and form positive ions, so it is closely tied to ionization enthalpy. Moving down a group, the number of electron shells increases and the outermost electrons lie farther from the nucleus and are better shielded, so the ionization enthalpy decreases. With electrons more easily lost, the metallic character increases steadily down a group. The option that metallic character decreases due to higher ionization enthalpy reverses the actual trend, since ionization enthalpy falls down a group. The option that it stays the same ignores the change in size and shielding. The option citing smaller atomic size is factually wrong because atoms get larger down a group. This trend, opposite to that across a period, is a key NCERT periodicity concept. Plausibility check: the increasingly metallic behaviour from carbon to lead within Group 14 directly illustrates the rise in metallic character down a group.
This easy difficulty chemistry question is from the chapter classification of elements and periodicity in properties, covering the topic of metallic character. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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