How does atomic radius generally vary across a period from left to right in the periodic table?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Decreases due to increasing effective nuclear charge drawing electrons inward pathway
Moving across a period, protons are added to the nucleus while electrons enter the same valence shell. Because electrons in the same shell shield each other poorly, effective nuclear charge (Zeff) increases, pulling the electron cloud closer and decreasing atomic radius.
Practise more Atomic Structure and Periodic Properties.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed Medical University Entrance Examination (Bulgaria) mock tests.
More Atomic Structure and Periodic Properties questions
- Which set of quantum numbers describes an electron in a 3d subshell orbital?
- What is the ground-state electron configuration of the transition metal chromium (Z = 24)?
- What is the ground-state electron configuration of the neutral copper atom (Z = 29)?
- Which rule states that electrons fill degenerate orbitals singly with parallel spins before pairing up?
- Why does oxygen have a slightly lower first ionization energy than nitrogen (1314 vs 1402 kJ/mol)?
- Why does boron have a lower first ionization energy than beryllium (801 vs 899 kJ/mol)?