Atomic Radius

[tiffanyteguh1C]

Can someone please explain why the radius of the atom of a lithium that undergoes a transition from the 2s orbital to the 2p orbital increases? This question was taken from 2.33(d) on the homework. I assumed that since Lithium is moving towards the p-block the atomic radius would decrease based on the trend that atomic radius decreases going from left to right.

[Kyra LeRoy 1E]

It goes from 1s to 2p in the question, and as you go down the periodic table it increases. In this case the increase downwards must be greater than the decrease to the right.

[Jessica Nunez 1I]

To add on, the atomic radius increases down a group because electrons occupy sub-shells with increasing quantum number, which suggests that the atomic radius increases as the quantum number increases.

[Madeline Musselman 3H]

The trend of atomic radius on the periodic table is that as you go from left to right along the period, the atomic radius gets smaller. On the other hand, as you move down a group on the periodic table, the atomic radius gets larger. Therefore, He has the smallest atomic radius and Fr has the largest atomic radius.

[Sabrina Dunbar 1I]

When the electron jumps from the 2s orbital to the 2p orbital, it occupies a shell further from the nucleus, resulting in a higher atomic radius. It transforms to be more similar to the atoms in the p block that we know are larger than the s block atoms.