Question
Describe the theory associated with the radius of an atom as it loses on electron.
Solution
Loss of electron: When a neutral atom loses one electron to form a cation, its radius decreases. In the cation, the nuclear charge remains the same as that of the parent atom but the number of electrons becomes less. Since the same nuclear charge now attracts the lesser number of electrons, therefore, the force of attraction of the nucleus on the electrons of all the shells increases. i.e. effective nuclear charge per electron increases in the cation and hence the size of the cation decreases. Thus
