Honors Chemistry Worksheet – Periodic Table
Neatly provide the best, complete, detailed response to the following questions and
problems.
1. How did Mendeleev arrange the elements on his periodic table?
He arranged the elements based upon similar properties, but noted the arrangement
led to an increase in atomic mass.
2. Give two examples of periodic relationships in everyday life (besides the periodic
table).
The starting of school for students the Tuesday after Labor Day.
The migration of waterfowl in the fall of the year.
3. Why were none of the noble gases included in Mendeleev’s periodic table?
These elements were some of the last to be discovered due to their unreactive nature
and gaseous phase.
4. What is periodic about the periodic table?
The repetition of properties of the elements within a family/group.
5. In general, the atomic mass of the elements increases as the atomic number increases.
Find pairs of elements on the periodic table that are exceptions to this generalization.
Ar (39.948) & K (39.0983) Te (127.60) & I (126.9045) Co (58.9332) & Ni (58.69)
6. Here is a list of chemicals: NaF, NaOH, H2Se, CS2, AlCl3, Na3PO4. Use them and the
periodic table to suggest values of x, and y in the following formulas:
Alx(OH)y Tlx(PO4)y SixCly Bax(PO4)y
Al(OH)3 Tl3PO4 SiCl4 Ba3(PO4)2
7. Name the elements in each of the following families:
a. Halogen b. Alkali metal c. Noble gases d. Alkaline earth
metals
Halogen – fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, astatine
Alkali metal – lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, francium
Noble gases – helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon
Alkaline earth metal – beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, radium
8. What are the symbols for each of the elements in the above families?
Halogen – F, Cl, Br, I, At
Alkali metal – Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr
Noble gases – He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn
Alkaline earth metal – Be,, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra
9. What trend is observed in the number of electrons in moving across a period in the
modern periodic table?
The number of electrons increases in the valence region (not necessarily shell) of
each atom increases moving left to right (increasing Z)across a period.
10. Write the symbol for the elements appearing in the following locations:
a. period 3; group IIIA - Al b. period 1; group 8A - He
c. period 4; group IIB - Zn d. period 6; group 15 - Bi
e. period 4; group 7 - Mn f. period 2; group VIA - O
11. Where are the metalloids (semimetals/semiconductors) located?
What element is the exception?
The metalloids are the elements having a side of adjacent to the staircase on the
periodic table. The exception is aluminum, Al, which is always considered to be a
metal.
12. How are all of the elements in Group 6A similar?
The elements of Group 6A have similar chemical properties due to their similar
valence shells; ns2 np4
13. Name the group in the periodic table in which each of the following elements falls,
and categorize it as a metal, nonmetal, or metalloid.
a. Rb b. As c. Xe d. Sr e. Sn
f. Bi g. Br h. Ge
Rb – Group 1 (IA) – alkali metal - metal As – Group 15 (VA) – metalloid
Xe – Group 18 (VIIIA) – noble gas – nonmetal Sn – Group 14 (IVA) - metal
Sr – Group 2 (IIA) – alkaline earth metal – metal
Bi – Group 15 (VA) – metal Br – Group 17 (VIIA) halogen – nonmetal
Ge – Group 14 (IVA) – metalloid
14. At room temperature, nitrogen is a nonmetallic gas, and bismuth is a solid metal.
Why are they both in Group 5A?
They have similar valence shells. Both elements possess a ns2 np3 configuration in
their valence shell.
Honors Chemistry Worksheet – Periodic Table Page 2
15. Name two elements with filled 6s orbitals.
Barium, radium, tungsten, gadolinium, uranium, etc. There are quite a few elements
that meet this - basically all elements with Z > 56.
16. Name the period three element that has a half-filled p sublevel.
Phosphorus
17. Explain why noble gases are so unreactive.
The noble gas elements have a filled valence shell which provides them with a large
amount of “configurational stability.”
18. Name the group of elements in the periodic table that has the following outer energy
level electron configuration.
a. s2 b. s2p5 c. electrons filling the d orbitals d. s2p6
a. alkaline earth metals b. halogens c. transition metals d. noble gases
19. Identify the following groupings of elements on the periodic table. What sublevel
does each represent?
a. inner transition (rare earth) elements b. representative elements
c. alkali metals d. actinide series
e. halogens f. metals
g. transition elements (metals) h. nonmetals
i. chalcogen family j. noble gases
k. lanthanide series l. alkaline earth metals
Identification of sublevels only: a. f sublevel b. s & p sublevels
c. s sublevel d. 5f sublevel e. p sublevel
f. s, p, d, and f sublevels g. d sublevel h. p sublevel (S for He only)
i. p sublevel j. s & p sublevels k. 4f sublevel
l. s sublevel
20. Name the elements with the following electron configurations.
a. [Ne] 3s23p6 b. [Kr] 5s2 c. [Ar] 4s23d104p2
d. 1s22s22p63s1 e. 1s22s22p63s23p5 f. [Xe] 6s24f145d6
a. argon b. strontium c. germanium
d. sodium e. chlorine f. osmium
21. How many valence electrons are in the following?
a. elements in the chalcogen family six
b. Na atom one
c. the element in Group IIIA; period 5 three
d. the element with the electron configuration 1s22s22p5 seven
22. Use the periodic table to determine the electron configuration of the valence electrons
for the following representative elements. (Recall, the principal quantum number is the
same as the period number and the total number of valence electrons {s & p} is the same
as the group number when using the older labeling).
a. Ca b. As c. Cs d. Ne e. Po
a. 4s2 b. 4s2 4p3 c. 6s1 d. 2s22p6 e. 6s2 6p4
23. Predict the number of protons and electrons in stable ions of radium, iodine, and
sulfur.
Ra – 88 protons and 86 electron I – 53 protons and 54 electrons
S – 16 protons and 18 electrons
24. Identify the scientist associated with the following developments:
a. initial periodic law b. triads c. law of octaves
a. Mendeleev b. Dobereiner c. Newlands
25. If element x has a mass of 35 and another element to two positions below has a mass
of 127, what might be the approximate mass of the element between these two elements?
81
Honors Chemistry Worksheet – Periodic Table Page 3
26. Use the periodic table to suggest formulas for compounds of the following pairs of
elements.
a. strontium – sulfur b. gallium - fluorine c. calcium – chlorine
d. lithium – bromine e. potassium – nitrogen
a. SrS b. GaF3 c. CaCl2 d. LiBr e. K3N
27. The metals of Group 2 of the periodic table combine with the halogens to form ionic
solids. Write a general equation to represent these reactions using M for the Group 2
metal and X for the halogen.
28. Predict the common ions formed when atoms of the elements listed gain or lose
electrons. Then name of the noble gas with which the ion is isoelectronic.
a. magnesium b. chlorine c. aluminum d. potassium
e. sulfur f. barium g. phosphorus
a. Mg+2 [Ne] b. Cl1- [Ar] c. Al3+ [Ne] d. K+ [Ar]
e. S2- [Ar] f. Ba+2 [Xe] g. P-3 [Ar]
29. The first three ionization energies of an element, in kJ per mole are these:
I.E.1 = 403 I.E.2 = 2,632 I.E.3 = 3,859
What is the charge on the most common ion of this element? How many valence
electrons does this element have? Identify the element from the list: Ga, Rb, Ba.
A charge of + 1. One valence electron Rb
30. Use the position on the periodic table to determine the number of “d” orbital electrons
in Fe, Zn, Cr.
Fe – six vaklence electrons Zn – ten valence electrons
Cr – five valence electrons (recall – promotes an s electron to half-fill the d sublevel)
31. What element has the electron configuration
a. [Ar] 4s23d2? B. [Ar] 4s13d5?
a. titanium b. chromium
32. What is the electron configuration of
a. Cr+3 b. Ni2+
a. [Ar] 3d3 or 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d3
b. [Ar] 3d8 or 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d8
33. Which transition metal ion, Sc3+, or Zn+2, is isoelectronic with Ar?
Sc+3 is isoelectronic with Ar
34. For which of the following elements would you expect there to be a large increase,
going from the 2nd to the 3rd ionization energy? Na, Mg, Al
Mg due to a valence of [Ne] 3s2
35. What trend is observed for the atomic radius of atoms?
a. Going down a family/group?
b. Going left to right across a period?
a. The atomic radius increases going from top to bottom within a group/family.
b. The atomic radius decreases moving left to right across a given period.
36. Explain the observations for your response to # 35 above, both a & b.
Moving down a family increases the nuclear charge; however this is offset by an
increase in shielding. Therefore, the factor that causes effective nuclear charge to
decrease and allows atoms to increase in size is the creation of a new valence shell
further from the nucleus with each element.
Moving left to right across a period increases the nuclear charge, but since the
additional electrons are being placed in the valence region of the atom, the shielding
does not increase proportionately. As a result, effective nuclear charge increases
moving left to right. This increase in the force acting on the electrons of the valence
shell pulls them closer to the nucleus, thereby decreasing the size of the atom.
37. How can the atomic radius of an element be experimentally determined?
Atomic radius is determined by measuring the internuclear distance between
bonded atoms. The internuclear distance is first determined for the diatomic
molecules such as Cl2, F2, H2, I2, Br2, etc. the internuclear distance is divided by two
92) to establish the atomic radius of the atom. These atoms are then bonded to other
atoms and the known radius is subtracted from the internuclear distance to
determine the radius of the new atom.
Measures of atomic radius
Unlike a ball, an atom doesn't have a fixed radius. The radius of an atom can
only be found by measuring the distance between the nuclei of two touching
atoms, and then halving that distance.
As you can see from the diagrams, the same atom could be found to have a
different radius depending on what was around it.
The left hand diagram shows bonded atoms. The atoms are pulled closely
together and so the measured radius is less than if they are just touching. This is
what you would get if you had metal atoms in a metallic structure, or atoms
covalently bonded to each other. The type of atomic radius being measured here
is called the metallic radius or the covalent radius depending on the bonding.
The right hand diagram shows what happens if the atoms are just touching. The
attractive forces are much less, and the atoms are essentially "unsquashed".
This measure of atomic radius is called the van der Waals radius after the weak
attractions present in this situation.
38. How does core electron shielding affect the attraction of the nucleus for the valence
electrons?
The lower energy level electrons shield or screen nuclear attraction for the valence
electrons. This shielding weakens the force with which the valence electrons are
held.
Honors Chemistry Worksheet – Periodic Table Page 4
39. What is ionization energy (I.E.), and how is it determined?
Ionization energy is the amount of energy needed to remove an electron from a
gaseous atom of an element. Ionization energies are obtained experimentally by
bombarding atoms in the gas-phase with a beam of fast-moving particles. If the
particle’s KE is less than the electron’s IE, nothing happens when it collides with the
atom; however, when the particle’s KE matches or exceeds the electron’s IE, the
collision ejects the electron from the atom. Thus, ionization energies can be
measured by slowly increasing the particle beam’s KE and looking for the precise
energy where an electron is ejected from the atom.
40. Why does Na have a higher 2nd I.E. than a first I.E.?
There are two reasons that account for I.E.2 being greater than I.E.1. The first
reason is because the loss of an electron decreases electron=electron repulsion. This
increases effective nuclear charge so that the remaining electrons are held with
more force. The second reason is sodium has a [Ne] 3s1 configuration. Therefore, it
will readily give up its lone valence electron in an attempt to gain the
configurational stability of a full valence shell. However, after losing that one
electron it becomes isoelectronic with neon, a noble gas, and has a sizable amount of
configurational stability. In order to upset this stable configuration requires a
significant amount of work and hence a significant amount of energy.
41. Would you predict the 2nd IE of Be to be greater or less than its 3rd IE? Support your
response.
The 2nd ionization energy of beryllium would be less than the 3rd ionization energy.
Be has a [He] 2s2 configuration,; therefore, there are two valence electrons. These
two valence electrons are lost somewhat readily as it leaves the beryllium +2 ion
with a full valence; one that is isoelectronic with helium. This full valence shell
configuration is very stable and as a result will require significant amounts of
energy to break open to remove the third electron.
42. Which has the larger radius, Na+ or Ne? Support your response.
Ne has the larger radius. While both the ion and the atom are isoelectronic, the
sodium ion contains one more proton than the neon atom. This results in the valence
electrons be pulled upon with greater force in the sodium ion. This larger effective
nuclear charge will result in the valence electrons being pulled closer to the nucleus
in the sodium ion as compared to a neutral neon atom.
43. What trend in the ionic radius of an element would you predict
a. as you move from left to right across a period?
b. as you move down a family?
Support your decisions for a & b above.
Overall, the ionic radius decreases moving left to right until you hit the staircase at
which point the ionic radius will increase sharply and again start to decrease.
This is observed because the neutral atoms decrease in radius moving left to
right. Metals tend to form positive ions; and therefore, the ionic radius will
decrease in size uniformly as long as the charges on the metal ions are the
same (e.g. all +1) or possibly increasing. However, should the ion charges
vary (which it does), there may be some slight variation in ionic radii moving
across. However, once the staircase is crossed, the ions formed are not
positive, but negative. Recognize, negative ions increase in radius due to the
increase in electron-electron repulsion. And, since these negative ions vary in
charge accordingly {e.g. Gp 14 (- 4); Gp 15 (- 3); Gp 16 (- 2); Gp 17 (- 1)}, we
see a large increase which again begins to decrease as one moves to the right.
The ionic radius increases moving down a family. If the family contains the
staircase, it will increase moving down, then decrease significantly when crossing
the staircase and begin to increase again.
The neutral atoms increase in radius moving down a family. And, the ions
formed by the elements within a family will have the same charge unless
crossing the staircase where the ions of the nonmetals are negative and the
ions of the metals are positive. Since the ions have like charge and we are
moving into higher energy levels with each atom/ion down the family, the
ionic radius increases.
44. Which of the following would you predict to be larger?
a. Na or Na+ b. F or F- c. Fe, Fe2+, or Fe3+
+ -
d. H, H , or H
a. Na b. F- c. Fe d. H-
45. If Rb2O, MgO, and Al2O3 are stable compounds, what would be the formulas of the
stable oxides of Sr, K, and Ga?
SrO K2O Ga2O3
46. Identify the two elements, using the formation listed below:
a. Element X - reacts with sodium to form compound Na2X
- is in the second period
b. Element Y – reacts with oxygen to form the compound Y2O
- has the lowest ionization energy of a 4th period element
Element X is oxygen (O) Element Y is potassium (K)
47. Write the formula of the ionic compound expected from the reaction of element X
and element Y in # 46 above.
The compound would be Y2X
48. Chlorine is commonly used to purify drinking water. When chlorine dissolves in
water, it forms hypochlorous acid.
Cl2(g) + H2O(l) ------> HOCl(aq) + H+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
Predict water happens when iodine, I2, dissolves in water. Write the chemical equation
for this reaction.
I2(s) + H2O(l) -------------> HOI(aq) + H+(aq) + I-(aq)
Honors Chemistry Worksheet – Periodic Table Page 5
49. Sodium reacts with water to for a basic solution, as shown in the equation below.
Na(s) + 2 H2O(l) -----> 2 NaOH(aq) + H2(g)
Predict the equation for the reaction of the following metals with water:
a. K b. Li c. Ca
K( s) + 2 H2O(l) -----> 2 KOH(aq) + H2(g)
Li(s) + 2 H2O(l) -----> 2 LiOH(aq) + H2(g)
Ca(s) + 2 H2O(l) -----> Ca(OH)2(aq) + H2(g)
50. Aluminum reacts with iodine to form aluminum iodide.
a. Write the equation for the reaction
b. Write the equation for the reaction of gallium with bromine
2 Al(s) + 3 I2(s) -----------------> 2 AlI3(s)
2 Ga(s) + 3 Br2(l) ---------------> 2 GaBr3(s)
51. Which of the following electron configurations would you expect to have the lowest
ionization energy? Support your selection.
a. 1s22s22p6 b. 1s22s22p63s1 c. 1s22s22p63s2
I would expect b. 1s22s22p63s1 to have the lowest first ionization energy. This is due
to the fact it is an alkali metal having low effective nuclear charge. In addition, it
only needs to lose one electron to become isoelectronic with a noble gas, meaning it
will have achieved a full valence shell and is configurationally stable.
52. Which element; Na, Si, Cl, or Cs, has:
a. the highest first I.E.?
b. the smallest atomic radius?
c. the most metallic character?
a. Cl b. Cl c. Cs
53. Use the periodic table to predict which species of each of these pairs has the smaller
radius.
a. K or Br b. Ne or F- c. K+ or Ga3+ d. S or Se
a. Br b. F- c. Ga3+ d. Se
