How does an atom's size affect its ability to hold onto valence electrons?

Here, we are required to determine how an atom's size affect its ability to hold onto Valence electrons.

First, we must establish the fact that according to Coulumb's law;

The force of attraction or repulsion between 2 charges is inversely proportional to the square of their distance apart.

On this premise;

For very big atoms with many energy levels, the atomic radius is longer and this consequently reduces the magnitude of the force of attraction between the nucleus and the Valence electrons.

The case is different for smaller atoms as the Valence electrons are closer to the nucleus and are therefore held strongly by the nucleus, so that they are not easily lost during chemical reactions.

Ultimately, the bigger the size of an atom, the less is it's ability to hold onto Valence electron.

P.S: This is evident in the reactivity of alkali metals and alkali earth metals which increases down the group as the atomic size increases.

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