However, if the sodium atom was replaced by a lithium atom, the electrons will not be attracted as close to the chlorine atom as before because the lithium atom is smaller, making the electron pair more strongly attracted to the closer effective nuclear charge from lithium.
haʊˈɛvɚ, ɪf ðə sˈoʊdiəm ˈæɾəm wʌz ɹᵻplˈeɪst baɪ ɐ lˈɪθiəm ˈæɾəm, ðɪ ᵻlˈɛktɹɑːnz wɪl nˌɑːt biː ɐtɹˈæktᵻd æz klˈoʊs tə ðə klˈoːɹiːn ˈæɾəm æz bᵻfˌoːɹ bɪkˈʌz ðə lˈɪθiəm ˈæɾəm ɪz smˈɔːlɚ, mˌeɪkɪŋ ðɪ ᵻlˈɛktɹɑːn pˈɛɹ mˈoːɹ stɹˈɔŋli ɐtɹˈæktᵻd tə ðə klˈoʊsɚɹ ɪfˈɛktɪv nˈuːklɪɹ tʃˈɑːɹdʒ fɹʌm lˈɪθiəm.