Given below is a plot of number of valence electrons against elements of period 2. The general trend in valence based on the valence shell electronic configuration of period 2 elements is
Answers
The elements in the periodic table are arranged in order of increasing atomic number. All of these elements display several other trends and we can use the periodic law and table formation to predict their chemical, physical, and atomic properties. Understanding these trends is done by analyzing the elements electron configuration; all elements prefer an octet formation and will gain or lose electrons to form that stable configuration.
Atomic Radius
We can never determine the atomic radius of an atom because there is never a zero probability of finding an electron, and thus never a distinct boundary to the atom. All that we can measure is the distance between two nuclei (internuclear distance). A covalent radius is one-half the distance between the nuclei of two identical atoms. An ionic radius is one-half the distance between the nuclei of two ions in an ionic bond. The distance must be apportioned for the smaller cation and larger anion. A metallic radius is one-half the distance between the nuclei of two adjacent atoms in a crystalline structure. The noble gases are left out of the trends in atomic radii because there is great debate over the experimental values of their atomic radii. The SI units for measuring atomic radii are the nanometer (nm) and the picometer (pm). 1 nm = 1 X 10-9 m; 1 pm = 1 X 10-12 m.
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Figure 1: (left) Covalent Radii, (middle) Ionic Radii, (right) Metallic Radii. Provided courtesy of Jessica Thornton (UCD)
To explain this trend, the concept of screening and penetration must be understood. Penetration is commonly known as the distance that an electron is from the nucleus. Screening is defined as the concept of the inner electrons blocking the outer electrons from the nuclear charge. Within this concept we assume that there is no screening between the outer electrons and that the inner electrons shield the outer electrons from the total positive charge of the nucleus. In order to comprehend the extent of screening and penetration within an atom, scientists came up with the effective nuclear charge, Zeff . The equation for calculating the effective nuclear charge is shown below.
Zeff=Z−S(1)
In the equation S represents the number of inner electrons that screen the outer electrons. Students can easily find S by using the atomic number of the noble gas that is one period above the element. For example, the S we would use for Chlorine would be 10 (the atomic number of Neon). Z is the total number of electrons in the atom. Since we know that a neutral atom has an identical number of protons and electrons, we can use the atomic number to define Z. For example, Chlorine would have a Z value of 17 (the atomic number of Chlorine). Continuing to use Chlorine as an example, the 10 inner electrons (S) would screen out the positive charge of ten protons. Therefore there would be and effective nuclear charge of 17-10 or +7. The effective nuclear charge shows that the nucleus is pulling the outer electrons with a +7 charge and therefore the outer electrons are pulled closer to the nucleus and the atomic radii is smaller. In summary, the greater the nuclear charge, the greater pull the nucleus has on the outer electrons and the smaller the atomic radii. In contrast, the smaller nuclear charge, the lesser pull the nucleus has on the outer electrons, and the larger atomic radii. Additionally, as the atomic number increases, the effective nuclear charge also increases. Figure 3 depicts the effect that the effective nuclear charge has on atomic radii.
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Figure 3: Courtesy of Jessica Thornton (UCD)
Now we are ready to describe the atomic radius trend in the periodic table. The atomic number increases moving left to right across a period and subsequently so does the effective nuclear charge. Therefore, moving left to right across a period the nucleus has a greater pull on the outer electrons and the atomic radii decreases. Moving down a group in the periodic table, the number of filled electron shells increases. In a group, the valence electrons keep the same effective nuclear charge, but now the orbitals are farther from the nucleus. Therefore, the nucleus has less of a pull on the outer electrons and the atomic radii are larger.