Electronegativity

The electronegativity of an element is a measure of the capacity of the element to attract electrons to itself in bonding with other elements. Electronegativity increases as we move from metallic to nonmetallic in character–that is as we move from left to right across the periodic table. In the first long row, we see a gradual though somewhat uneven increase in electronegativity as we across the first transition element series. Note again that metals have lower electronegativity values than nonmetals. Consistent with our observations that metals tend to give up electrons in bonding with nonmetals. Within a given group, electronegativity generally decreases as we move downward in the group.