PERIODIC VARIATIONS IN ATOMIC

PROPERTIES
Mrs. Wilhelmina I. Galiza
• Summary:
• In this unit, the students will learn & understand the Periodic Properties
of Elements.
• Content Standard:
• The learners demonstrate understanding of….
• the periodic recurrence of similar properties among elements in the
periodic table in terms of electronic structure
• Most Essential Learning Competencies:
• Determine the properties of the elements as arranged in the periodic table:
• Atomic Radius, Ionic Radius, Ionization Energy, Electron Affinity, and
electronegativity
Slide Title
The atomic radius of a chemical element is a
measure of the size of its atoms, usually the mean or
typical distance from the center of the nucleus to the
boundary of the surrounding shells of electrons. Since
the boundary is not a well-defined physical entity, there
are various non-equivalent definitions of atomic radius.
Three widely used definitions of atomic radius are: Van
der Waals radius, ionic radius, and covalent radius.
Atomic Radius
 Slide Title
Periodic Trend
The atomic radius of atoms generally decreases from left
to right across a period. There are some small exceptions,
such as the oxygen radius being slightly greater than the
nitrogen radius. Within a period, protons are added to the
nucleus as electrons are being added to the same principal
energy level. These electrons are gradually pulled closer to the
nucleus because of its increased positive charge. Since the force of
attraction between nuclei and electrons increases, the size of the
atoms decreases. The effect lessens as one moves further to the
right in a period because of electron-electron repulsions that would
otherwise cause the atom’s size to increase.
 
Group Trend
The atomic radius of atoms generally increases from top
to bottom within a group. As the atomic number increases
down a group, there is again an increase in the positive
nuclear charge. However, there is also an increase in the
number of occupied principle energy levels. Higher principal
energy levels consist of orbitals which are larger in size than the
orbitals from lower energy levels. The effect of the greater
number of principal energy levels outweighs the increase in
nuclear charge and so atomic radius increases down a group.
o The ionic radius is the distance between the nucleus and the electron in the
outermost shell of an ion.
o When an atom loses an electron to form a cation, the lost electron no longer
contributes to shielding the other electrons from the charge of the nucleus;
consequently, the other electrons are more strongly attracted to the nucleus, and
the radius of the atom gets smaller.
o When an electron is added to an atom, forming an anion, the added electron
repels other electrons, resulting in an increase in the size of the atom.
In physics and chemistry, ionization energy (American English spelling)
or ionisation energy (British English spelling) is the minimum amount of
energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron of an isolated
neutral gaseous atom or molecule.
1. ionization energy generally increases from left to right within a given 
period (that is, row).
ionization energy generally decreases from top to bottom in a given group (that
is, column).
What is Electron Affinity?
Electron affinity is defined as
The amount of energy released when an electron is
added to a neutral atom to form an anion.
Electron affinity reflects the ability of an atom to
accept an electron. It is the energy change that occurs
when an electron is added to a gaseous atom. 
Atoms with stronger effective nuclear charge have
greater electron affinity.
 
Electronegativity, symbol χ, measures the tendency of an atom to attract a
shared pair of electrons (or electron density), An atom's electronegativity is
affected by both its atomic number and the distance at which its 
valence electrons reside from the charged nucleus. The higher the associated
electronegativity, the more an atom or a substituent group attracts electrons.