Answer
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Work Step by Step
a. The trend in the values of the ionization energies for aluminum can be accounted for by the increasing nuclear charge as more electrons are removed. As each successive electron is removed, the remaining electrons experience a greater effective nuclear charge, leading to an increase in the energy required to remove the next electron.
b. The large increase between \( I_{3} \) and \( I_{4} \) can be explained by the fact that after the removal of the third electron, the aluminum ion becomes highly positively charged (Al3+), leading to a significant increase in the energy required to remove the fourth electron. This is due to the increased electrostatic attraction between the remaining electrons and the highly charged nucleus.
