Explain why the atomic radius decreases across a period and increases down a group ?

In general, atomic radius decreases across a period and increases down a group. ... Down a group, the number of energy levels (n) increases, so there is a greater distance between the nucleus and the outermost orbital. This results in a larger atomic radius.

it is to be noted that an alpha particle is an helium nucleus. so it contains 2 protons 2 neutrons and has a mass number of 4. when alpha decay particles are ejected from the nucleus it gets transformed into an atom which has atomic number less than 2 and a mass number less than 4.

an equation that could represent alpha decay is radium 226 decay of alpha particle forms radon 222.

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it is the most commonly accepted one