8.10 Actinoid contraction is greater from element to element than lanthanoid contraction. Why?
Actinoid contraction is greater from element to element than lanthanoid contraction. The reason behind it is the poor shielding effect of 5 (in actinoids) orbitals than 4 orbitals( in lanthanoids). As a result, the effective nuclear charge experienced by valence electrons is more in actinoids than lanthanoids elements.