Chapter 8: Problem 4

What are isoelectronic species? Arrange the following in increasing order of atomic size: \(\mathrm{C}^{4-}, \mathrm{N}^{3-}\), \(\mathrm{O}^{2-}, \mathrm{F}^{-}, \mathrm{Ne}\)

Short Answer

Expert verified

Isoelectronic species are atoms, ions or molecules that share the same number of electrons or have identical electronic structure. Based on the atomic-radius trend in the Periodic Table, the increasing order of atomic size of the given isoelectronic species \(\mathrm{C}^{4-}, \mathrm{N}^{3-}, \mathrm{O}^{2-}, \mathrm{F}^{-}, \mathrm{Ne}\) is: \(\mathrm{Ne} < \mathrm{F}^{-} < \mathrm{O}^{2-} < \mathrm{N}^{3-} < \mathrm{C}^{4-}\)

Step by step solution

Define Isoelectronic Species

Isoelectronic species are atoms, ions or molecules that have the same number of electrons or the same electronic structure. In above broken down exercise, all mentioned species are isoelectronic species since they all have 10 electrons.

Basic principle about atomic size

Generally, moving from left to right along a period, size of atoms decreases though atomic number increases. The reason is that electrons are being added to the same energy level while protons are being added to the nucleus. The increase in the number of protons results in an increased effective nuclear charge causing the electron cloud to be drawn inward which overall results in a smaller atomic radius.

Arrangement of given species in increasing order of atomic size

In the exercise the given species are \(\mathrm{C}^{4-}, \mathrm{N}^{3-}, \mathrm{O}^{2-}, \mathrm{F}^{-}, \mathrm{Ne}\). If you look at the Periodic Table, you will notice that these species are situated from left to right in a period. So, if atomic size decreases left to right in a period, we can say that \(\mathrm{C}^{4-}\) is the largest and \(\mathrm{Ne}\) will be the smallest. So, the arrangement in the increasing order of atomic size would be: \(\mathrm{Ne} < \mathrm{F}^{-} < \mathrm{O}^{2-} < \mathrm{N}^{3-} < \mathrm{C}^{4-}\)

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What are isoelectronic species? Arrange the following in increasing order of atomic size: \(\mathrm{C}^{4-}, \mathrm{N}^{3-}\), \(\mathrm{O}^{2-}, \mathrm{F}^{-}, \mathrm{Ne}\)

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Define Isoelectronic Species

Basic principle about atomic size

Arrangement of given species in increasing order of atomic size

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