chemistry help

<p>hey, can u guys answer this question: Why does atomic radius stay the same for elements in period 2 from group 14 to group 18?? I need extra credit by answering this, help. Thanks alot</p>

<p>they dont..atomic radius decreases going from left to right...right?</p>

<p>According to the texts, they don't</p>

<p>Radii are all in nanometers
C=0.077
N=0.070
O=0.066
F=0.064
Ne=0.070 (this is an estimate)
This data was in Masterson and Hurley and Zumdahl. The numbers in Brown, LeMay and Burstein were different, but they still decreased.</p>

<p>I guess if you round to one sig fig they all become 0.1, but I don't think that's the point.</p>

<p>I'd be interested in knowing this too. They don't seem like strange elements.</p>

<p>It must be a trick question. OP said it was extra credit, after all, right?</p>

<p>Generally: in a period (left to right): each succeeding atom has an additional election and an additional proton. The electrons are added to the same shell and are located at a relatively constant distance from the nucleus, with a slight increase ion atomic radius due to the electrons repelling each other. However, the increasing nuclear charge is a stronger effect and attracts the electron clouds closer to the nucleus, decreasing the overall radius.</p>