Answer:
The change in energy when a neutral atom in the gaseous state adds an electron to form a negative ion.
Explanation:
That is, it is the energy involved in the reaction
X(g) + e⁻ ⟶ X⁻(g)
For most elements, the electron affinity is negative.
However, there are two major exceptions — the values are positive for the elements of Groups 2 and 18 (note the troughs in the graph below).