Polarizing Power

[Melissa_Aguirre1J]

How do you determine what atom has higher polarizing power? Do we need to know that?

[Ellie Tsang 1I]

When determining which cations have higher polarizing power, first consider the charge. A cation with a higher charge will have higher polarizing power. If charges are the same, consider the size. Smaller cations will have higher polarizing power.

[Andrea- 3J]

In my notes I wrote:
Polarizing power is the cation's ability to pull electrons towards it. The smaller the atom means that there are less electrons and the anion will be closer to the nucleus which will have a stronger pull.

I assume that you do need to know polarizing power because it was apart of the homework questions.

[Komal Prakash 1H]

A cation's polarizing power is what allows it to distort the shape of another atom. The larger the charger the greater the polarizing power because it can pull more stronger on the electrons of the other atom. Furthermore, the bigger the size the SMALLER the polarizing power because bigger atoms have more shells which shield the strength of the nucleus and weaken its ability to pull on another atom.