Question

Does the nuclear charge increase or decrease as you go across a period (for atomic radii)?

also why

Answer 1

Nuclear charge increases as we move along the period but atomic radius decreases.

Explanation:

Reason
The nuclear charge increases from left to right in a period
because the atomic number or proton number increases and hence the hold of nucleus on the valence electron also increases.
As a result, the nucleus tightly held the outermost electrons. Consequently electrons are pulled towards the nucleus and thus the atomic radius decreases.
Hope it helps...