How does atomic radius change as you move across the periodic table?
A. Smaller nuclear charge lowers energy; more electrons in an orbital lowers energy.
B. Atomic radius decreases moving from left to right across a period and increases from top to bottom.
C. Atomic radius increases diagonally across the periodic table.
D. Atomic radius increases moving left to right across a period and decreases from top to bottom.
E. None of the answers is correct.
Correct Answer is (B) Atomic radius decreases moving from left to right across a period and increases from top to bottom.
Atomic radius decreases as we move from left to right across aperiod and increases on moving top to bottom in a group. This happens because as we move from left to right in a period the net electrostatic force of neucleus increases and the radius decreases.