Explain, in terms of atomic structure, why a potassium ion is smaller than a potassium atom.?

Question

Potassium ions are essential to human health. The movement of dissolved potassium ions, k+(aq),in and out of a nerve cell allows that cell to transmit an electrical impulse.

Answer 1

When a Potassium atom becomes a Potassium ion, it looses a single electron to become K+.

The one electron it looses is located in its outermost, valance, electron shell (the S orbital).

When this electron is taken away, the S orbital is empty and the radius of the resulting ion is now smaller than the previous atom.

Answer 2

Potassium Atomic Structure

Answer 3

Atomic Structure Of Potassium

Answer 4

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RE:

Explain, in terms of atomic structure, why a potassium ion is smaller than a potassium atom.?

Potassium ions are essential to human health. The movement of dissolved potassium ions, k+(aq),in and out of a nerve cell allows that cell to transmit an electrical impulse.

Answer 5

An atom has a nucleus, which is made up of subatomic particles called protons and neutrons. The type of element an atom is depends on the number of protons in its nucleus, for example, Potassium has 19. The nucleus is surrounded by several shells of electrons, each of which has higher energy than the last. The number of electrons in a shell is limited, so when an atom runs out in one shell, the next electron is placed in the next shell. K, which happens to have an electron configuration of 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s1, means that its last electron is placed in the 4s orbital, in the 4th shell. When potassium is ionized, it loses this electron and thus, loses its 4th shell. Since it does not have the extra shell, the ion is smaller than the potassium atom.

Answer 6

The Potassium atom has only one electron in its outermost shell. That electron is lost in the ion, reducing the layers of electrons, making the atom smaller

Answer 7

Because it's lost an electron