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Which of the following is the smaller atom: magnesium or chlorine?

2 Answers

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Answer: Chlorine

Explanation: Since chlorine's 17 protons are greater than magnesium's 12 protons, chlorine will have a greater effective nuclear charge to draw chlorine's valence electrons closer to the nucleus and, thus, chlorine is expected to have the smaller atomic radius, while magnesium with the lower effective nuclear charge is expected to have the larger atomic radius.

User Cewing
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7 votes

Answer:

Chlorine atoms are smaller

Step-by-step explanation:

Magnesium have more electrons than chlorine.

User Kylos
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