Which atom in the ground state requires the least amount of energy to remove its valence electron? (1) lithium atom (2) potassium atom (3) rubidium atom (4) sodium atom

                   Rubidium (Rb)

                           Ionization Energy is defined as, "the minimum energy required to knock out or remove the valence electron from valence shell of an atom".

               Along Periods:

                                        Ionization Energy increases from left to right along the periods because moving from left to right in the same period the number of protons (atomic number) increases but the number of shells remain constant hence, resulting in strong nuclear interactions and electrons are more attracted to nucleus hence, requires more energy to knock them out.

              Along Groups:

                                        Ionization energy decreases from top to bottom along the groups because the number of shells increases and the distance between nucleus and valence electrons also increases along with increase in shielding effect provided by core electrons. Therefore, the valence electrons experience less nuclear attraction and are easily removed.

                   Given elements belong to same group hence, Rubidium present at the bottom of remaining elements will have least ionization energy due to facts explained in trends of groups above.