The Clicker question that I chose asked what characters of an atom determine the magnitude and duration of a charge. The options that were given to choose from were size, weight, density, and electronegativity. The correct answer would be electronegativity. Electronegativity is the measure of how strong the atom is attracted to its outer substituents. The higher the electronegativity the more it is attracted. So, the charge is determined by this because if an atom bonds with something that will allow it to be positive or negative and it has a high electronegativity; the atom will keep the bonds for longer. Also, the more electronegative atom will pull the electrons in the bond closer which will determine the magnitude of the charge. Size does not tell us anything about the bonds of the atom or the makeup of it so that doesn’t work as an answer. It’s the same thing for the weight, it does not tell us anything about how it will interact with other atoms. The density will tell you some about the internal forces of the atom but it has nothing to do with charge and it definitely can’t express the magnitude or duration.
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