Which element has the highest first ionization energy?

Which element has the highest first ionization energy?

Step 1: Understand what ionization energy is. It is the energy required to remove an electron from an atom.
Step 2: Know that the first ionization energy refers to the energy needed to remove the first electron.
Step 3: Recognize that smaller atoms generally have higher ionization energies because their electrons are closer to the nucleus.
Step 4: Learn that effective nuclear charge is the net positive charge experienced by an electron in an atom. Higher effective nuclear charge means a stronger attraction to the nucleus.
Step 5: Identify helium (He) as the element with the smallest atomic size and the highest effective nuclear charge among all elements.
Step 6: Conclude that helium has the highest first ionization energy because it is small and has a strong attraction to its electrons.

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