Which element in the periodic table has the smallest ionization energy?

1 Answer
anor277
Apr 2, 2016

Ionization energy increases across a Period (left to right) and decreases down a Group (top to bottom).

Explanation:

Given the above, the element with the lowest ionization energy should be a heavy alkali metal, maybe francium, #Z=87#. As a chemist, as a physical scientist, you should look up tables of ionization energies on the interwebz, and see if this hypothesis is confirmed. [Here is a leading link.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionization_energy). You may find a better site.

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