- #1
henry3369
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My book is trying to explain why atomic radii decreases as you move toward the right side of the periodic table because the effective nuclear charge increases. I understand why an increase in effective nuclear charge results in a smaller radius, but I don't know why the effective nuclear charge would decrease with more valence electrons. If Zeff= Z-S, then an increase in valence electrons would increase shielding; thus, Zeff would be smaller with an increase in S.