Question

As you move down the same column of the periodic table, elements have

fewer protons
more shells
a lower atomic number
a different group numbers

Answer 1

As you move down a column on the periodic table, the atomic structure changes with the addition of more shells due to increasing principal quantum numbers, leading to an increase in atomic radius.

Step-by-step explanation:

As you move down a column on the periodic table, the number of protons in each element increases as indicated by the atomic number. However, this is not all that changes—the atomic structure of the elements changes as well. One key way it changes is in the number of electron shells.

More shells are added as you move down a column, which is due to increasing principal quantum numbers. This results in an increase in the atomic radii because the valence electron shell is getting larger and lies physically farther away from the nucleus. Correspondingly, the elements gain more electrons and more energy levels, making the shells larger.

The periodic trend of atomic sizes can be summarized with the increasing number of electron shells or 'more shells' as you move down the periodic table, and a decrease in atomic radius from left to right across periods due to the increasing nuclear charge. This nuclear charge has a greater pull on the valence electrons leading to a smaller atomic size despite the constant principal quantum number across a row.

Therefore, as you move down the same column of the periodic table, elements indeed have more shells, which is critical to understanding the periodic trend of atomic sizes.

Answer 2

Moving down a column of the periodic table results in an increase in atomic shells and a larger atomic radius, retaining the same group number and exhibiting similar chemical properties.

Step-by-step explanation:

As you move down the same column of the periodic table, elements have more shells, not fewer protons, a higher atomic number, and the same group number. This is because moving down a group in the periodic table adds an electron shell for each new element, due to the increasing principal quantum number. This causes an increase in atomic radius as the valence electron shell is farther from the nucleus. All the elements within the same column, or group, exhibit similar chemical properties due to their valence shells having the same number and distribution of electrons. Periodic trends, such as these, highlight the orderly pattern in which the periodic table is arranged, reflecting electron configurations and the filling of subshells.

The periodic table of the elements is a tool that organizes the known chemical elements by atomic number and groups similar chemical properties together. The increase in atomic size from top to bottom is because each consecutive element going down the group has valence electrons added to a higher shell. On the other hand, the atomic size generally decreases from left to right across a period as the valence electrons are in the same shell, but the number of protons and the associated nuclear charge increases, pulling the electrons closer to the nucleus.