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How does electronegativity change down Group 15?
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In general, the electronegativity of elements in Group 15 decreases as you move down the group from nitrogen to bismuth.1
According to the Pauling scale, the electronegativity values for the group are as follows:
- Nitrogen: 3.041
- Phosphorus: 2.191
- Arsenic: 2.181
- Antimony: 2.051
- Bismuth: 2.021
This trend reflects the general periodic property where nonmetallic character and the ability of an atom to attract shared electrons decrease moving down a group, while metallic character increases. While some alternative scales, such as the Sanderson scale, may show slight variations in these values, the overall downward trend remains consistent with the group's chemical behavior.21