Question

3. If the distance between two ions of the same charge is increased, what will happen to the energy of interaction between the ions? Why?

Answer 1

The electrostatic attraction energy between ions of opposite charge is directly proportional to the charge on each ion (Q 1 and Q 2 in Equation 4.1. 1). Thus, more energy is released as the charge on the ions increases(assuming the internuclear distance does not increase substantially).