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AP Chemistry
1.7 Periodic Trends
1.5 Atomic Structure and Electron Configuration
AdvancedMCQConceptual24k
The first ionization energies and ground-state valence electron configurations for four Period 2 elements are shown in the table below.

ElementValence Electron ConfigurationFirst Ionization Energy (\(\text{kJ/mol}\))
\(\text{Be}\)\(2s^2\)\(899\)
\(\text{B}\)\(2s^2\,2p^1\)\(801\)
\(\text{N}\)\(2s^2\,2p^3\)\(1402\)
\(\text{O}\)\(2s^2\,2p^4\)\(1314\)

Although first ionization energy generally increases across a period with increasing nuclear charge, both \(\text{B}\) and \(\text{O}\) have lower first ionization energies than the preceding element. Which of the following statements provides the correct justification for both observed anomalies based on subshell electron configurations?

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