Question

What is meant by covalent radius?

Answer 1

Covalent radius:

• “The distance between two atoms when they are bound together by a single bond in a covalent molecule is the “Covalent Radius” of the element.”
• A covalent radius may be defined as $\frac{1}{2}$ of the distance between the centers of the nuclei of two identical atoms joined by a covalent bond.

Example:

• The bond distance in the chlorine molecule $\left({\mathrm{Cl}}_2\right)$ is $198\mathrm{pm}$ while half this distance $(99\mathrm{pm})$, is considered the atomic radius of chlorine.
• The atomic radius refers to both covalent/metallic radii that depend on whether the element is a non-metal/metal.