Question

Which statement describes the general trends in electronegativity and atomic radius as the elements in Period 2 are considered in order from left to right?
(1) Both electronegativity and atomic radius increase.
(2) Both electronegativity and atomic radius decrease.
(3) Electronegativity increases and atomic radius decreases.
(4) Electronegativity decreases and atomic radius increases.

Answer 1

#3 would be the correct answer.
explanation:
1) electronegativity, the attractive force of an atom to a pairing electron, would increase due to the octet rule (each atom tries to obtain a full valance shell)
2) atomic radius increases because the more electrons there are in the valance shell, the more attractive protons forces are required to hold them in their place. However, elements cannot loose or gain protons. Therefore, there are less attractive forces, which causes the electrons to be farther away from the protons, and thus there is a larger atomic radius.

Answer 2

The correct option is 3; ELECTRONEGATIVITY INCREASES AND ATOMIC RADIUS DECREASES.

Electronegativity refers to the tendency of an atom to attract a shared pair of an electron to itself. When one is moving across period 2 of the periodic table from left to right, the elements on the left are metals while those on the right are non metals. Thus, the metals has low electronegativity values, while the non metals have high elelctronegativity values.

Atomic radius refers to the measurement of the size of an atom. As one moves across period 2, there is a decrease in the atomic radii of the element. For instance, the atomic radii of the elements as one move from lithium to neon are: 152, 112, 88, 77, 70, 66, 68 and 67.