Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and the Yahoo Answers website is now in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Science Homework.....Halogen Reactivity?
Do halogens become more or less reactive as you move down the column? How does their atomic structure explain this?
2 Answers
- Tashkent TLv 69 years agoFavorite Answer
Halogens become LESS reactive as you move down the column.
The desire of each halogen atom is to find that extra electron to complete its shell & become full. As you go down the column from fluorine to chlorine to bromine to iodine, so the shells that are nearly complete become more and more distant from the atom's nucleus. This results in a shielding effect due to each full electron shell of negative electron charge.
Therefore the outer electrons are less and less strongly attracted by the positive nucleus as would be any 'incoming' electrons to form a halide ion.