Electronegativity is the ability of a bonded atom to attract the pair of electrons in a covalent bondThe Pauling scale used is from 0 - 4. The electronegativity decreases down the group and depends on •nuclear charge - the bigger the nuclear charge the higher the electronegativity• the distance between the nucleus and bonding pair of electrons.The shorter the distance the higher the electronegativity•the fewer the energy levels the smaller the shielding effect therefore the higher the electronegativity