In the given question, the false statement among the options is:
B. Atoms become smaller as one moves down a group.
Explanation:
1. When electrons are removed from an atom, it becomes positively charged. This loss of negatively charged electrons does not make the atom larger but rather makes it smaller due to the increased effective nuclear charge pulling the remaining electrons closer.
2. As one moves down a group in the periodic table, the number of electron shells increases, leading to larger atoms. Therefore, atoms do not become smaller as one moves down a group; instead, they become larger.
3. When moving to the right across a period in the periodic table, atoms generally become smaller. This is due to the increasing nuclear charge as the number of protons in the nucleus increases, resulting in a stronger pull on the electrons and a more compact atomic structure.
Therefore, statement B is false because atoms become larger as one moves down a group in the periodic table, not smaller.
