ACS Chemistry Practice Exam 2025 – The All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

The electronegativity scale indicates the tendency of an atom to attract electrons when it is involved in a chemical bond. This concept is essential in understanding how different atoms interact with each other to form compounds. Atoms with higher electronegativity values effectively pull shared electrons closer to themselves, which can influence the bond type—whether the bond is more ionic or covalent.

For instance, when elements with different electronegativities bond, the atom with the higher electronegativity will attract the bonding electrons more strongly, leading to a polar bond. This property is foundational in determining the reactivity and behavior of chemicals in various reactions and conditions.

In contrast, the other choices represent different concepts: donating electrons pertains to reducing agents and metals, stability of an atom within a compound relates to factors like molecular geometry and electron configuration rather than electronegativity directly, and mass comparisons involve atomic weights rather than electron-attracting ability. Thus, the focus on an atom's ability to attract electrons makes the correct answer clear and integral to the study of chemistry.