Question

The size of a Cl- ion is greater than the size of Cl atom.

Answer 1

Dear Student,

An anion is formed by the gain of an electron by the parent atom. The number of protons remains the same in the anion as the parent atom, but the electrons increase. The attractive force is thus reduced as there is the same number of protons attracting an increased number of electrons. This causes the electrons to not be bound as tightly to the nucleus resulting in an increase in size.

In anions, the number of electrons is more than the protons so interionic repulsions take place and due to this, the size of the anion is bigger than the atom.

Cl^- is the anion of the parent atom Cl. Hence, it has bigger size than Cl atom.

Regards