Foundation
Chemistry Foundation
Atomic Radius Periodicity
Question

Which of the following has the largest size ?

Ba+2 

Li+

Rb+

Mg+2 

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Solution

Atomic size decreases across a period and increases down a group in the periodic table. For ions, size depends on the number of electrons and the effective nuclear charge. Cations are smaller than their parent atoms. Comparing the given ions:

Rb+ is in period 5, so it has the largest number of electron shells. Even though it has a +1 charge, its size is larger than the smaller, more highly charged ions like Ba2+ (period 6 but higher charge) or Mg2+ (period 3). Li+ is the smallest as it is in period 2.

Therefore, Rb+ has the largest ionic radius.

Final Answer: Rb+