118k views
1 vote
What effect do energy levels have on effective nuclear charge?

1 Answer

6 votes
A higher effective nuclear charge causes greater attractions to the electrons, pulling the electron cloud closer to the nucleus which results in a smaller atomic radius. Down a group, the number of energy levels (n) increases, so there is a greater distance between the nucleus and the outermost orbital.
User Bruno Mello
by
5.5k points