Final answer:
To find the largest element in a row and the smallest in a column, consider atomic radii which increase down a column and decrease across a row. Pairwise comparisons help when elements are not in the same row or column, leading to carbon being smaller than silicon, and silicon smaller than aluminum.
Step-by-step explanation:
To identify the largest element in a row and the smallest element in a column, we must understand how atomic radii change within the periodic table. Here's how you can determine this:
- For elements in the same column (also known as a 'group'), the atomic radius increases as you move down the column. This increase is due to larger principal quantum numbers which indicate more electron shells and thus a larger size.
- For elements in the same row (also known as a 'period'), the atomic radius decreases as you move from left to right. This decrease occurs because of increasing effective nuclear charge, which pulls electrons closer to the nucleus, decreasing the atomic size.
- If the elements aren't in the same row or column, use pairwise comparisons to determine their relative sizes by considering their position in rows and columns.
This strategy can help us conclude that carbon is smaller than silicon (C < Si), because carbon is above silicon in the same group. Similarly, silicon is smaller than aluminum (Si < Al), despite both being in the same row, because aluminum has a lower effective nuclear charge.
By combining these two insights, we can list the elements in order of increasing atomic radius: Carbon (C) < Silicon (Si) < Aluminum (Al).