Question

Explain the following:

(ii) Radius of an atom is greater than the radius of its cation.

Answer 1

Step-1:

Atomic radii is the distance of the electrons in the outermost from the atomic nucleus.

Atomic radii increases from top to bottom in a group and decreases from left to right in a period but is highest for a noble gas.

Step-2:

The atom have higher atomic radii when compared to its cation. This is due to the larger nuclear attraction in cation than the atom. The large nuclear attraction pulls the electron towards the nucleus.

Therefore, radius of an atom is greater than the radius of its cation.