What is the primary reason for the trend in atomic radius going from left to right across the periodic table?

1.All atoms in a given period of the table are the same size because the same main energy level is being filled.

2.There is no clear trend, the atoms all have different radii

3.Increasing nuclear size means the atoms are getting larger.

4.Increasing effective nuclear charge pulls in more tightly on the outermost electrons so the atoms get smaller

5.As electrons are added, they go into orbitals in new primary levels which are further from the nucleus, so the atoms get larger.

I think that the answer is #5, because the electrons go into new orbitals when they are added,and the further the electrons are from the nucleus the weaker the pull is on the electrons
Is my answer right?

1 answer

Close and good reasoning; the flaw is that the principle quantum number (n = 1,2,3,etc) is the same for any one row and although the orbitals within the n level do have different energies, the main reason is #4. I think the "clue" in #5 is the word "primary". New electrons are not going into NEW PRIMARY levels; i.e., the same primary level is utilized in the same row. #5 is the reason the radius increases as one goes DOWN the table. See for example Na, K, Rb, etc.