Which term describes the ability of an element to conduct electricity?

The term that describes the ability of an element to conduct electricity is conductivity. Conductivity refers specifically to how easily an electric current can flow through a material. This property is essential for understanding the behavior of different materials in electrical applications. Metals, for instance, generally have high conductivity due to the presence of free-moving electrons, which facilitate the flow of electric current.

In contrast, electronegativity relates to an atom's ability to attract electrons in a chemical bond, not its ability to conduct electricity. Reactivity refers to how likely an element is to engage in chemical reactions, which does not directly correlate with electrical conduction. Ionization is the process of forming ions, involving either the addition or removal of electrons from an atom or molecule, but it does not specifically measure how well a material can conduct electricity. Therefore, conductivity is the most appropriate term to describe the capability of an element to conduct electricity.