Question

Given below are the melting points and atomic radii of three elements X, Y and Z of the periodic table having 'r' electrons in the outermost shells of their atoms -

	X	Y	Z
Melting point (oC)	100.5	97.5	63.5
Atomic radii (Ao)	1.33	1.54	1.96

State four inference that can be drawn about the elements on the basis of the above data

Answer 1

(i) Since each element contains the same number of valence electrons, n in the outermost shells of their atoms, therefore X, Y and Z, belong to the same group.

(ii) The atomic radii increase from X to Z so metallic character increases from X towards Z.  

(iii) X, Y and Z have melting points above 25^oC (room temperature). Therefore, X, Y and Z are solid at room temperature.

(iv) The ionization potential decreases from X to Z because they belong to the same group in the descending order.