Relative size of cations and anions

[Abishek 3K]

Why are cations smaller than anions?

[Alex Dib 4H]

I think its because when cations lose all of the electrons of their outer shell, that loss of the shell makes the cation much smaller. And when anions gain electrons to complete their outer shell, the extra electrons repel each other more, making the overall radius larger.

[hafsa_zulfiqar_1j]

Cations are smaller than their parent atoms because when they lose electron(s) the pull of the nucleus on the remaining electrons becomes stronger and 'draws in' the remaining electrons leading to cations being smaller than their parent atoms. Likewise, anions are larger than their parent atoms because when they gain electron(s) the pull of the nucleus on these electrons lessens and thus anions are larger than their parent atoms. I hope this helps :)