Using this formula, you will explain some of the strange exceptions to the periodic trend of atomic radius. Part 1:There are several different ways to measure/calculate atomic radius, all of which will result in slightly different values. What is the source of this uncertainty? You may want to reflect back on where the electrons are housed in the atom! No calculations or knowledge of these calculation methods is necessary to answer this question. Part 2:Nitrogen has an atomic radius of 77pm, while sulfur has an atomic radius of 102 pm. Why does sulfur have the larger radius even though it has more than twice as many protons? Use Coulomb's law (left) to justify your answer.
Over the past week, we have focused on periodic trends. Now, we will take a closer look at the periodic trend of atomic radius.
We partially explained these trends by relating them to the attractive force the electrons experience from the nucleus, governed by Coulomb's law:
Force_{electric} = k*\frac{q_1*q_2}{r^2}Forceelectric=k∗r2q1∗q2
- F = the electrical force between two particles
- k is a constant that we don't need to worry about right now
- q1 and q2 are the charges of the particles (such as +1 or -2)
- r is the distance between the centers of the two charged particles.
- Remember: F < 0 is an attractive force, while F > 0 is repulsive.
Using this formula, you will explain some of the strange exceptions to the periodic trend of atomic radius.
Part 1:There are several different ways to measure/calculate atomic radius, all of which will result in slightly different values. What is the source of this uncertainty? You may want to reflect back on where the electrons are housed in the atom! No calculations or knowledge of these calculation methods is necessary to answer this question.
Part 2:Nitrogen has an atomic radius of 77pm, while sulfur has an atomic radius of 102 pm. Why does sulfur have the larger radius even though it has more than twice as many protons?
Use Coulomb's law (left) to justify your answer.
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