The Periodic Table of Elements is something many of us start learning about when we’re pretty young. While memorizing every element’s atomic symbol and the order of the elements is a certified flex, there’s so much more to this chart of Earth’s finest resources.
Quick run-down:
Coulombic Attraction is the attraction between oppositely charged particles (protons and electrons).
Effective nuclear charge causes greater attraction to electrons = resulting in a smaller atomic radius and a greater Coulombic attraction of the atom.
The Shielding Effect, which is a reduction in the effective nuclear charge, causes less attraction to electrons = resulting in a bigger atomic radius and a weaker Coulombic Attraction.
*Remember: positively charged ions are cations, negatively charged ions are anions*
Atomic Radius: the measure of the radius of an atom. In other words, it’s the distance from an atom’s nucleus or center, to the outermost electron shell.
Trends:
The Atomic Radius DECREASES across a period.
The Atomic Radius INCREASES down a group/column.
Shown above: the atomic radius of the elements in period 2 decreases from left to right.
Ionization Energy: the amount of energy required to remove an electron from the outer shell of an atom.
Trends:
Ionization Energy INCREASES across a period.
Ionization Energy DECREASES down a group/column.
Shown above: the change/direction of Ionization Energy labeled across the periodic table of elements.
Electronegativity: a chemical property of when an atom attracts electrons toward itself. It is affected by its atomic number and the distance of its valence electrons from the charged nuclei.
Trends:
Electronegativity INCREASES across a period.
Electronegativity DECREASES down a group/column.
Shown above: the change/direction of Electronegativity labeled across the periodic table of elements.
Works Cited:
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