Chemistry: Atoms First (2nd Edition)

Published by Cengage Learning
ISBN 10: 1305079248
ISBN 13: 978-1-30507-924-3

Chapter 2 - Active Learning Questions - Page 99a: 9

Answer

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Work Step by Step

Electrons in atoms can be described from a quantum mechanical perspective using wavefunctions, which are mathematical functions representing the probability distribution of finding an electron in a particular region around the nucleus. These regions are called orbitals, which describe the space where electrons are most likely to be found. The atomic radius is not a sharply defined distance. Instead, it’s often defined as the distance within which there is a high probability (say, ~90–95%) of finding the electron cloud’s outermost electron.
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