What is the trend in atomic radius as you move down the alkali metal group? (202
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the trend in atomic radius as you move down the alkali metal group? (2022)
Increases
Decreases
Remains constant
Increases then decreases
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the trend in atomic radius as you move down the alkali metal group? (2022)
Step 1: Understand what atomic radius means. Atomic radius is the distance from the center of an atom's nucleus to the outermost electron shell.
Step 2: Identify the alkali metal group. The alkali metals are found in Group 1 of the periodic table and include lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), cesium (Cs), and francium (Fr).
Step 3: Recognize that as you move down the group from lithium to francium, each element has more electron shells than the one above it.
Step 4: Realize that adding more electron shells means that the outermost electrons are farther from the nucleus, which increases the atomic radius.
Step 5: Conclude that the trend in atomic radius for alkali metals is that it increases as you go down the group.
