Why does fluorine, the element in the upper right corner of the ...

[nautica902]

Why does fluorine, the element in the upper right corner of the Periodic Table, have the largest electronegativity of any element?

Question 2

Which statements are true about electronegativity?
  (a) Electronegativity increases from left to right in a period of the Periodic Table.
  (b) Electronegativity increases from top to bottom in a column of the Periodic Table.
  (c) Hydrogen, the element with the lowest atomic number, has the smallest electronegativity.
  (d) The higher the atomic number of an element, the greater its electronegativity.

[aidanmbrowne]

Answer to Question 1

Electronegativity increases with increasing positive charge on the nucleus and with decreasing distance of the valence electrons from the nucleus. Fluorine is that element for which these two parameters lead to maximum electronegativity.

Answer to Question 2

Electronegativity increases from left to right across a period and from bottom to top of a column in the Periodic Table. Thus, statement (a) is true, but (b), (c), and (d) are false.