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Why is rubidium has bigger atomic radius than potassium

User CrabMan
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Final answer:

The atomic radii increase as you go down a column of the periodic table. Rubidium has a bigger atomic radius than potassium because rubidium is below potassium on the periodic table and has an additional electron shell.

Step-by-step explanation:

As you go down a column of the periodic table, the atomic radii increase. This is because the valence electron shell is getting larger and there is a larger principal quantum number, so the valence shell lies physically farther away from the nucleus. This trend can be summarized as follows:

Rubidium (Rb) is below potassium (K) on the periodic table. Since rubidium is below potassium, it has an additional electron shell, making its atomic radius larger than that of potassium.

User Hayssam Soussi
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