What is the effect of increasing the oxidation state of a transition metal on its ionic radius?

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Q: What is the effect of increasing the oxidation state of a transition metal on its ionic radius?

Solution: Increasing the oxidation state of a transition metal generally decreases its ionic radius due to increased nuclear charge.

Steps: 6

Step 1: Understand what oxidation state means. The oxidation state of a transition metal indicates how many electrons it has lost or gained.
Step 2: Recognize that transition metals can have multiple oxidation states, meaning they can lose different numbers of electrons.
Step 3: Know that when a transition metal loses electrons to increase its oxidation state, it has fewer electrons surrounding the nucleus.
Step 4: Realize that the nucleus of the atom has a positive charge due to protons, and this charge pulls the remaining electrons closer.
Step 5: Understand that as the oxidation state increases, the effective nuclear charge (the net positive charge experienced by electrons) increases because there are fewer electrons to shield the nucleus.
Step 6: Conclude that the increased nuclear charge pulls the remaining electrons closer to the nucleus, resulting in a smaller ionic radius.