![iron atomic radius iron atomic radius](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ri6v2.png)
Another reason for the increase in atomic radius is the electron shielding effect, which states that the electrons in the higher energy levels are being shielded by those closer to the nucleus, further reducing the nucleus' pull on them. This happens because electrons are now being added to higher energy levels, further away from the nucleus, which weakens the nucleus' pull. As you move down a colomn (a group) of the periodic table, atomic radius increases. Moreover, atomic radius decreases as we move from left to right. This is where the other periodic trends comes into play. It is the shortest distance between the atoms nuclei and the outermost shell of the atom. Mouseover on the chart to see the element name and Atomic Radius of the element. Atomic Radius Graph - Atomic Radius of all the elements in graph. We have shown the Atomic Radius of the elements for which reliable data is available.
![iron atomic radius iron atomic radius](https://www.geo.arizona.edu/xtal/geos306/crystalmakerionicradii.jpg)
Since #"C"# comes before #"O"# in the second period, #"O"# will have a smaller atomic radius than #"C"#.Īs mentioned before, #"Al"# and #"K"# don't share a period. Refer to graph, table and property element trend below for Atomic Radius of all the elements in the periodic table. We know that atomic radius decreases from left to right within a period due to the increase in effective nuclear charge.Īs you move to the right within a period, the number of protons elements have increases simultaneously with the number of electrons however, electrons are being added to the same energy level across a period, which means that the increasing number of protons allows the nucleus to exert more pull on these electrons, which in turn makes the atomic radius smaller. This aspect will allow you to easily rank them with respect to increasing atomic radius, since both of the periodic trends in atomic size are on display here. The correct order with respect to increasing atomic radius isĪn important thing to notice about these four elements is the fact that only two of them, #"C"# and #"O"#, are in the same row (the same period) of the periodic table the other two, #"Al"# and #"K"#, don't share a period neither with #"C"# and #O#, nor with each other, as #"Al"# is in the third period and #"K"# is in the fourth.