Both oxide and fluoride ions are highly electronegative and have a very small size. Due to these properties, they are able to oxidize the metal to its highest oxidation state.
How would you account for the irregular variation of ionisation enthalpies (first and second) in the first series of the transition elements?
Ionization enthalpies are found to increase in the given series due to a continuous filling of the inner d-orbitals. The irregular variations of ionization enthalpies can be attributed to the extra stability of configurations such as d0, d5, d10. Since these states are exceptionally stable, their ionization enthalpies are very high.