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JEE Main levelSingle correct optionDifficulty 2 of 3pt082

The quoted radius of neon () is much larger than that of fluorine (), even though neon has a higher nuclear charge. The reason is that:

  1. Aneon has an extra electron shell compared with fluorine
  2. Bneon has a lower effective nuclear charge than fluorine
  3. Cthe neon value is a van der Waals radius while the fluorine value is a covalent radius
  4. Dneon forms bonds that are longer than those of fluorine

Answer: C

Neon forms no bonds, so only a non-bonded (van der Waals) radius can be given. Covalent radius is smaller than van der Waals radius for the same kind of atom, and the two scales cannot be compared directly.
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