Answer:
A Beryllium (Be) atom has 2 electron shells, whereas a Barium (Ba) atom has 6 electron shells
Step-by-step explanation:
Beryllium (Be) is an element in group two of the periodic table with atomic number 4 (Is2 2s2). On the other hand, barium (Ba) is an element in group 2 of the periodic table with atomic number 56. However, as stated in the question, the Beryllium (Be) atom is smaller than the Barium (Ba) atom.
This is because a Beryllium (Be) atom has 2 electron shells, whereas a Barium (Ba) atom has 6 electron shells. The electron shells of Barium contains more electrons, which is responsible for the large size of the Barium atom. Note that, the higher the number of atoms, the larger the atomic size.