Question #af0a5
1 Answer
Dec 14, 2017
Regardless of it being a metal or a non-metal, the trend will always be that the radii of the atom increases as you go down in a given group.
Explanation:
As you go down in the periodic table, you have more and more electrons than the atom above it. So, Cl has more electrons than O. These extra electrons will go and occupy another orbite, which is further from the nucleus. Hence, the total radius of the atom increases as you go down in a group (as you add electrons).