Lesson 2: Classification of the

Elements

Essential Question: Why do

elements in the same group have
similar properties?

Figure 10

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 Lesson 2 TEKS
TEKS 5.B Predict the properties of elements in chemical families,
including alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, halogens, noble gases, and
transition metals, based on valence electrons patterns using the Periodic
Table.

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 Lesson 2 Vocabulary
• alkali metal
• alkaline earth metal
• halogen
• noble gas
• transition metal
• inner transition metal
• lanthanide series
• actinide series

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 Organizing the Elements by Electron Configuration 1

• Specific properties are found in elements close to each other on the

periodic table.
• Within groups are clear patterns of relationships among chemical and
physical properties.
• The arrangement of the periodic table reflects patterns that explain why
these regularities exist.
• An element’s electron configuration, particularly regarding its valence
electrons, determines its chemical properties.

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 Organizing the Elements by Electron Configuration 2

• You can determine an atom’s electron configuration and its valence

electrons from its position on the periodic table.
• The repeating patterns of the table reflect patterns of outer electron
states.
• The electron configurations of the first four group 1 elements are
shown in Table 3 on the next slide. All four elements have the same
number of electrons in their outermost orbitals.

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 Organizing the Elements by Electron Configuration 3

Table 3 Electron Configuration for Some Group 1 Elements

Period 1 hydrogen 1s1 1s1

Period 2 lithium 1s 2 2s1 [He]2s1
Period 3 sodium 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s1 [Ne]3s1
Period 4 potassium 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 2 3p 6 4s1 [Ar]4s1

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 Organizing the Elements by Electron Configuration 4

Valence electrons
• Atoms in the same group have similar chemical properties because
they have the same number of valence electrons.
• Since valence electrons are those that participate in chemical
reactions, understanding them allows chemical reactions and their
outcomes to be predicted.

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 Organizing the Elements by Electron Configuration 5

Valence electrons of the representative elements

• Electron-dot structures display the connection between group number
and number of valence electrons.
• Group 1 elements have a valence electron configuration of s 1.
• Group 2 elements have a valence electron configuration of s 2.
• The number of valence electrons for the elements in groups 13 to 18 is
ten less than their group number: group 13 elements have three
valence electrons, group 14 elements have four, and so on.
• Group 18 elements each have eight valence electrons, except helium,
which has only two.

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 Organizing the Elements by Electron Configuration 6

Figure 10

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 Organizing the Elements by Electron Configuration 7

Valence electrons and periods

• The energy level of an element’s valence electrons indicates the period
on the periodic table in which it is found.
• The electron-dot diagram shows only the electrons in the highest
energy level.

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 The s-, p-, d-, and f-Block Elements 1

• The reason behind the table’s odd shape becomes clear when it is
divided into sections, or blocks, that represent the energy sublevel
being filled with valence electrons.
• Because there are four different energy sublevels (s, p, d, and f), the
periodic table is divided into four distinct blocks, as shown in Figure 11
on the next slide.

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 The s-, p-, d-, and f-Block Elements 2

Look Closer Analyze What is the

relationship between the maximum
number of electrons an energy sublevel
can hold and the number of columns in
that block on the diagram?

Figure 11

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 The s-, p-, d-, and f-Block Elements 3

s-Block elements
• The s-block consists of groups 1 and 2.
• Group 1 elements have partially filled s orbitals containing one valence
electron and electron configurations ending in s 1.
• Group 2 elements have completely filled s orbitals containing two
valence electrons and electron configurations ending in s 2.

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 The s-, p-, d-, and f-Block Elements 4

p-Block elements
• After the s sublevel fills, the valence electrons next occupy the
p sublevel.
• The p-block is comprised of groups 13 through 18 and contains
elements with filled, or partially filled, p orbitals.
• There are no p-block elements in period 1 because the p sublevel does
not exist for the first principal energy level (n = 1).
• The p-block spans six groups because the three p orbitals can hold a
maximum of six electrons.

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 The s-, p-, d-, and f-Block Elements 5

p-Block elements
• Group 18 elements
• The group 18 elements, called the noble gases, are unique
members of the p-block.
• The atoms of these elements are so stable that they undergo
virtually no chemical reactions.
• The electron configurations of the first four noble gas elements show
that both the s and p orbitals corresponding to the period’s principal
energy level are filled.
• Together, the s- and p-blocks comprise the representative elements.

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 The s-, p-, d-, and f-Block Elements 6

Table 4 Noble Gas Electron Configuration

Period Principal Energy Level Element Electron Configuration

1 n=1 helium 1s1
2 n=2 neon [He]2s 2 2p6
3 n=3 argon [Ne]3s 2 3p 6
4 n=4 krypton [Ar ]4s 2 3d10 4p 6
5 n=5 xenon [Kr ]5s 2 4d10 5p6
4 n=6 radon [Xe ]6s 2 5f 14 5d10 6p 6

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 The s-, p-, d-, and f-Block Elements 7

d-Block elements
• The d-block is the largest of the blocks.
• With some exceptions, d-block elements are characterized by a filled
outermost s orbital of energy level n and filled or partially filled d orbitals of
energy level n–1.
• As you move across a period, electrons fill the d orbitals.
• The aufbau principle states that the 4s orbital has a lower energy level than
the 3d orbital; therefore, the 4s orbital is filled before the 3d orbital.
• The five d orbitals can hold a total of 10 electrons; thus, the d block spans 10
groups on the periodic table.

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 The s-, p-, d-, and f-Block Elements 8

f-Block elements
• The f-block contains elements characterized by a filled, or partially filled,
outermost s orbital, and filled or partially filled 4f and 5f orbitals.
• Because the energy levels among f orbitals and the next d orbitals are
so similar, the electrons of the f sublevel do not always fill their orbitals
after some of those in d orbitals.
• There are seven f orbitals, so the f-block spans 14 columns of the
periodic table.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 1

• The blocks of the periodic table and the arrangement of elements

into groups provides a systematic organization of trends in
properties.
• Several of the families, or groups, of elements displayed by
arrangement into columns have specific names.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 2

Properties of the representative elements

• Elements in the s- and p-blocks of the periodic table are the
representative elements.
• As the number of valence electrons increases from one in group 1
to eight in group 18, elemental properties occur predictably.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 3

Properties of the representative elements

• Alkali metals
• The elements in group 1 are known as alkali metals.
• Each atom of an alkali metal has one valence electron, which is easily
removed from the atom during a chemical reaction.
• Alkali metals are the most reactive metals of the periodic table.
• The reactivity of alkali metals increases from top to bottom in the table
because electrons in higher energy levels are less strongly bound to
the nucleus due to other electrons between the nucleus and the
valence electrons.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 4

Properties of the representative elements

• Alkali metals
• Driving Question Connection
• Because of the reactivity of these
metals, they are never found in pure
form in nature.
• They are only found in compounds
with other elements, such as sodium Figure 12
chloride and the lithium compounds
that make up lithium ion batteries,
shown in Figure 12.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 5

Properties of the representative elements

• Alkali metals
• As with most metals, alkali metals have high thermal and electrical
conductivity and are ductile and malleable.
• The alkali metals have lower melting points than most of the other
metal elements of the periodic table.
• In pure form, these metals are soft enough to cut with a steel knife,

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 6

Properties of the representative elements

• Alkaline earth metals
• Before the 1800s, the term “earths” was used for substances that were
considered nonmetallic, insoluble in water, and unchanged by fire.
• It was eventually discovered that some of these elements are, in fact,
metals, and they were called alkaline earth metals to distinguish them
from alkali metals and from other earths.
• The alkaline earth metals have two s-electrons in their outer shell and are
in group 2.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 7

Properties of the representative elements

• Alkaline earth metals
• Because the alkaline earth metals are metallic, they are good electrical and
thermal conductors.
• The s-electrons are easily ionized, although not as easily as the single
valence electron of an alkali metal.
• Alkaline earths do not react as readily with air or water as their more reactive
neighbors to the left on the periodic table.
• Like the alkali metals, a higher-number period corresponds to a greater
tendency to react.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 8

Properties of the representative elements

• Group 13–16 elements
• The elements in groups 13 through 16 are not as consistent within each
group as are the elements closer to the two sides of the periodic table.
• Toward the top of each column, the elements show the strongest
nonmetallic characteristics.
• The elements at the bottom of each column are metals, due to increased
shielding by many electrons between the nucleus and the valence
electrons.
• In all the groups, the number of shielding electrons affects the properties of
the elements.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 9

Properties of the representative elements

• Halogens
• The elements in group 17 are known as halogens, which means “salt
former” because sodium salts can be produced with any halogen.
• Halogens are very reactive and only found in nature as part of chemical
compounds.
• The halogens show a much greater similarity in chemical properties to one
another than the elements in groups 13 through 16, but the elements have
clear differences in the properties.
• Nonmetals tend to decrease in reactivity from the top to the bottom of
the periodic table because attraction between the nucleus and
additional electrons is reduced when more electrons are between them.
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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 10

Properties of the representative elements

• Halogens
• Halogen atoms have seven valence electrons in their outermost electron
shell, 2 s-electrons and 5 p-electrons.
• The addition of one more electron completely fills the valence shell,
producing an ion with the same configuration as the adjacent noble gas,
which is a particularly stable arrangement.
• The high reactivity of halogens is based on the tendency to acquire this
additional electron.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 11

Properties of the representative elements

• Noble gases
• Noble gases are colorless, odorless, and nonflammable.
• At first, the noble gases were designated as group 0 in the periodic table
because they appeared to be completely unreactive.
• With the development of the theory of electron shell configurations, it became
clear that these gases should be located at the right side of the table because
they complete the sequence of filling the outer shell.
• Because these elements have completely filled valence levels, they do not
tend to react, either to lose or gain electrons.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 12

Properties of transition elements

• Transition metals
• The transition metals, elements in group 3 through group 12 of the periodic
table, are hard, durable, and shiny materials.
• They have high melting and boiling points and are good conductors of heat
and electricity.
• The elements of this group have electrons in their d-shells.
• Because the energies of the d-electrons can be similar to those of the next
higher s-electrons, the order in which the orbitals fill along periods can
vary.
• As a result, some of the d-electrons can act as valence electrons during
chemical reactions, so unlike the metals in the s-block, different transition
metals can lose different numbers of electrons in chemical reactions.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 13

Properties of transition elements

• Transition metals
• Many transition metals, such as iron and chromium, can each lose different
numbers of valence electrons depending on what they react with.
• Transition metals and inner transition metals are generally less reactive than
alkali metals or alkaline earth metals.
• The d- and f-electrons can act as valence electrons, but they tend to be less
likely to separate from the atom than the s-level valence electrons of the
alkali and alkaline earth metals.
• Reactivity varies from those transition metals that are relatively reactive,
such as iron, to those that are very stable, such as gold.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 15

Properties of transition elements

• Inner transition metals
• The properties of elements within a series have similar properties to
one another, but there are differences that make them important for
many specific applications.
• The magnetic and optical properties of each element depend on the
configuration of its f-electrons.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 14

Properties of transition elements

• Inner transition metals
• The inner transition metals, shown below the main part of the periodic
table, are metals with properties that are strongly influenced by their
f-electrons.
• The first sequence of inner transition metals, known as the lanthanide
series, follows the element lanthanum on the table.
• The second sequence follows actinium and is known as the actinide
series.
• Some periodic tables include lanthanum and actinium with the inner
transition metals.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 16

Properties of transition elements

• Inner transition metals
• The lanthanide series, along with scandium, yttrium, and
lanthanum, are collectively known as the rare earth elements.
• Rare earth elements are used extensively in electronics
applications because of their electrical, magnetic, and optical
properties.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 17

Properties of transition elements

• Inner transition metals
• The rare earth elements are not actually rare; most are more abundant
in Earth’s crust than many other metals.
• Many of the chemical properties of the rare earth metals are very similar
to one another.
• The minerals containing rare earth metals are often located in deep
veins of rock beneath the surface and mining them can cause
significant environmental damage.

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 Valence Electrons and Element Properties 18

The future of the periodic table

• The development of the periodic table took many years, but like all
scientific knowledge, it is open to change.
• The periodic table is updated as new elements are synthesized,
identified, and named, and as new data about elements arise from
experimentation.
• The periodic table is an essential tool for understanding chemistry.

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