Ramesh V
Last Activity: 15 Years ago
The atomic radius of a chemical element is a measure of the size of its atoms, usually the distance from the nucleus to the boundary of the surrounding cloud of electrons.
Explaining periodic trends in atomic radius. See the section on factors affecting the valence shell above.
trend |
valence
n |
Z |
core
electrons |
net effect on atomic radius |
going right across main group rows... |
no change |
increases |
no change |
the increase in Z causes a decrease in radius |
going right across transition series... |
no change |
increases |
increases |
the increase in Z causes a decrease in radius, but the increase in the number of core electrons causes an increase. The two competing effects cause a small decrease, then small increase! |
going down groups... |
increases |
increases |
increases |
three competing effects; but n is strongest, so radius increases. |
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