Structure of the Periodic Table

Chapter 8
 Its Origins…
• Many new elements were being discovered in the
19th century.
• Chemists noticed patterns among the elements.
– Metals lithium, sodium and potassium all look and
reacted in similar ways.
• They arranged the elements in a line according to
atomic mass.
• They noticed that elements with similar properties
occurred at regular intervals.
• They divided the line of elements at the intervals
and stacked them up to form the Periodic Table.

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 Today’s Periodic Table
• Elements are arranged in group no. name (if any)
order of proton number.
I alkali metals
• A horizontal row of
elements is called a period. alkaline earth
II
They are numbered 1, 2, 3 metals
etc. III (no name)
• A vertical column of
elements is called a group. IV (no name)
They are numbered in V (no name)
Roman numerals. Some
groups have names. VI (no name)
• Elements between Group II VII halogens
and Group III are all metals
 transition metals 0 noble gases
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halogens
 Advantages of the Periodic
Table
• The arrangement of elements in the Periodic Table
helps us to understand them better.
• Elements in a period and also within a group have
similar properties.
• We can use properties of some elements in a group
or period to make predictions about other
elements.

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 Pattern 1: Electronic
Structure
• ACROSS THE PERIOD...

Mg S Ar
18 p

– Elements have the same number of electron shells.

– This number is same as the period number.
– E.g.: elements in Period 3 (Mg, S, Ar etc) all have 3
electron shells.

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 Pattern 1: Electronic
Structure
• DOWN THE GROUP...

Be
Mg Mg Ca
20 n
20 p

– Elements have the same number of valence

electrons.
– This number is the same as the group number.
– E.g. elements in Group II (Be, Mg, Ca etc) all have 2
valence electrons.
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 Pattern 2: Bonding
• Elements in the same group have the same number
of valence electrons.
• Hence they form the same type and number of
bonds in chemical bonding.
– Group I elements have 1 valence electron ,
which can be lost to form 1+ ion .
– Group V elements have 5 valence electrons , and
thus form 3 covalent bonds in compounds.
• Elements in the same group form compounds with
similar chemical formula.

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 Pattern 3: Metals & Non-
metals
• Metals are on the left side of the Periodic Table.
• Non-metals are on the right side.
• From left to right in the period, elements change
from metal to non-metal.
– Elements with small numbers of valence electrons
are metals.
– Elements with large numbers of valence electrons
are non-metals.
• A diagonal line divides metals and non-metals.
Elements close to this line are metalloids (have
properties of both metals and non-metals).

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metalloids
 Pattern 4: Changes in a
Group
• Down a group, proton number increases.
• Properties of elements are similar, but they still
change down a group.
• At the sides of the Periodic Table, the changes
down the group are gradual.
• The change is greater in the middle of the Table,
where elements change from metals to non-metals.

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 Using the Periodic Table
• The Periodic table can be used to predict the
properties of elements from what they know of
other elements in the same group.

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 Predict: Formula and
Structure
• Fluorine, bromine and iodine are found in Group
VII of the Periodic Table.

• All 3 form molecules containing 2 atoms.

• Can you predict what the formula of an iodine
molecule would be?
element molecular formula
fluorine F2
chlorine Cl2
bromine Br2
iodine I2

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 Predict: Properties of
Elements
• Physical properties of
elements change melting boiling
element
down a group. point (°C) point (°C)

• There is often a trend fluorine -220 -188

in these properties.
• E.g. melting and chlorine -101 -35
boiling points of
bromine -7 59
elements in Group
VII.
iodine 114 184
– Can you predict the
melting and boiling astatine
points of astatine?
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colour version of this Periodic Table on www.sciencemania.wordpress.com