Question

How is metallic radius determined in the case of metals? Give suitable example.

Answer 1

• In the case of metals, distance between the adjacent atoms in metallic sample is measured. One half of this distance is taken as the metallic radius.
• For example: In beryllium, distance between the adjacent Be atoms is measured. One half of this distance is taken as the metallic radius of a Be atom.
• Distance between two adjacent Be atoms is 224 pm. Therefore, metallic radius of a Be atom is 112 pm.

Note: Atomic radii of some elements are given in the table below.