Question

O, li, c for which of these elements do the outermost valence electrons experience the greatest effective nuclear charge?

Answer 1

The effective nuclear charge of an atom = total electrons - inner electrons For O, ENC = 8 - 2 = 6 For Li, ENC = 3 - 2 = 1 For C, ENC = 6 - 2 = 4 The electrons in O experience the greatest effective nuclear charge and that is why O is smaller than C (which is smaller than Li).