Chemistry

Problem

The valence electron in neutral sodium occupies the

n = 3

shell, whereas the valence electron in neutral lithium occupies the

n = 2

shell. Assuming the average electron–nucleus distance scales with

n^{2}

and that ionization energy is directly proportional to the electrostatic attraction between the nucleus and that electron, determine the approximate ratio

\dfrac{IE_{1}(\text{Li})}{IE_{1}(\text{Na})}

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