Question

Question 12
Which of the following gives the correct increasing order of the atomic radii of O, F and N?

(a) O, F, N
(b) N, F, O
(c) O, N, F
(d) F, O, N

Answer 1

Option (d) is correct.
Atomic radius decreases across a period because nuclear charges increase across a period. When the charge increases, the electrons are pulled towards the nucleus with greater force decreasing the size of the atomic radius. Hence Fluorine has the least radius as its atomic number is larger than oxygen and nitrogen. The same case is with oxygen, it has more number of positive charges than nitrogen. Hence nitrogen has the largest size than oxygen and then fluorine.