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What is the change in the chemical reactivity of very active non-metals when their atomic size increases?

A) Decreases
B) Increases
C) Remains constant
D) Unpredictable

1 Answer

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Final answer:

A) Decreases

The chemical reactivity of very active non-metals decreases as the atomic size increases due to the outer electrons being farther away from the nucleus and held less tightly, making electron gain harder.

Step-by-step explanation:

When considering the chemical reactivity of very active non-metals and its change with increasing atomic size, it generally decreases.

This is because as the atomic size increases, typically as you go down a group in the periodic table, the outer electrons are farther from the nucleus and are held less tightly. This makes it harder for these non-metals to gain electrons and hence, their reactivity decreases.

This concept mirrors the trend of the metals in groups 1 and 2, where reactivity increases down a group due to the ease of losing electrons. In contrast, for non-metals, the ease of gaining electrons diminishes with an increase in atomic size, which leads to decreased reactivity.

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