Organizing the Elements

History of the Periodic Table

 1860’s a Russian Scientist named Dmitri
Mendeleev discovered a system for
organizing all of the known elements.
 To help him find a pattern he put all of
the known information on individual
cards.
 He listed the elements
 known properties.
Individual Properties Listed
 Known properties were: melting point,
density, color, atomic mass, # of
chemical bonds an element can form.
 Atomic mass is the average mass of one
atom of that element.
Mendeleev’s Periodic Table
 Patterns appeared when elements were
arranged in order of increasing atomic
mass.
 However, this did not always produce
similar groups. So he moved the cards
into the group it best fit.
 This left blank spaces on the table.
Mendeleev’s Periodic Table
Mendeleev’s Periodic Table
 Mendeleev predicted that that the blank
spaces would be filled by elements that
had not yet been discovered.
 He even predicted the properties of
new elements.
 Published his table in 1869 the new
elements were discovered within 16
years.
Modern Periodic Table

Periodic – means regular,

repeated pattern.
Modern Periodic Table
 Properties are repeated in each period
or row of the table.

 Elements are arranged by increasing

atomic number – not mass as
Mendeleev had previously thought.
Reading the Periodic Table
26  - atomic number

Fe  - elements symbol

Iron  -elements name

 Atomic mass
55.847
Organization of the Table
 An elements properties can be
predicted from its location on the table.
 Across the row or down a column the
elements’ properties change in a
predictable way.
Groups or Families
 Elements in a column.
 Numbered 1 on left to 18 on right.
 Elements in a group have similar
characteristics.
 They have the same number of valence
electrons.
Periods or Rows
 Contains a series of elements from
different families.
 The elements have very different
properties.
 7 periods of elements.
 7 electron shells
Why it works
 The table works because it is based on the
structure of atoms, especially the valence
electrons.
 Atomic # increases by 1, so it has 1 more
valence electron than the previous family.
 Atomic # increasing by 1 means it has one
more proton than the previous atom.
Metals
 Metals

 Found on the left of

the zig-zag line.
 Metals based on
physical properties
of hardness,
shininess,
malleability,
ductility.
Physical Properties of metals
 Malleability means
that it can be
pounded into
shapes.
Physical Properties of metals
 Ductility means that
the metal can be
pulled out or drawn
into a long wire.
Physical Properties of metals
 Conductors – most
metals can transmit
heat and electricity
easily.
 Magnetic – several
metals can be made
into magnets or are
attracted to
magnets.
Chemical Properties of Metals
 Some very reactive – sometimes
explosive others not reactive at all.
 Metals on the left of the table Family 1
are the most reactive and they become
less and less as you move right.
Alloys
 Mixture of metal.
 Useful alloys combine the best
properties of two or more metals into a
single substance.
Metals in the Periodic Table
Alkali Alkaline Transition Mixed Lanthinide
Earth Metals Groups Actinide
Family
1 Family Families 3
2 -12
Alkali Metals
 Most reactive metals
 Never found alone in
nature, always in a
compound.
 Why are they so
 Soft, shiny, reactive?
 Sodium is an Because they have
example. one valence electron
that they can easily
give away.
Alkaline Earth Metals
 Group 2
 Not as reactive as Group 1 but more
reactive than most metals.
 Hard, bright white, good conductors of
electricity.
 Each has 2 valence electrons which
they easily lose.
Transition Metals
 Group 3 – 12
 Form a bridge between the very
reactive metals on the left side and the
less reactive metals on the right.
 Very similar so that it is difficult to
detect differences from one column to
the next.
Transition Metals
 Fairly stable, reacting slowly or not at
all with air and water.
 Used to make colorful paints such as
cobalt blue.
Iron, Cobalt, Nickel
 First elements in groups 8,9, 10 called
the iron triad.
 The only ones known to create a
magnetic field.
Metals in Mixed Groups
 Groups 13 – 16 include: metals,
nonmetals, metalloids.

 The metals to the right of the transition

metals are not as reactive as Groups 1
&2.
Lanthanides & Actinides
 Bottom of the periodic table are the
Lanthanides, in the top row, and the
Actinides in the bottom row.

 Called Rare Earth Elements

 Placed in periods 6 & 7 between the
alkaline earth metals and the transition
metals.
Lanthanides
 Soft, Malleable, shiny metals with high
conductivity.
Actinides
 Only thorium and Uranium exist on
Earth in any significant amounts.
 Uranium is used to produce energy in
nuclear power plants.
 All elements after Uranium on the table
were created artificially in a laboratory.
Bonding in Metals
Most have 1-3 valance electrons which they lose
easily.
Usually lose the electron to a nonmetal and form
ionic bonds.

Sometimes metallic bonding occurs – the positively

charged ions are surrounded by a sea of
electrons. The electrons can slide past each other
. This is how they are malleable, ductile, and
good conductors of electricity. Page 331.
 For example, during the reaction of sodium with chlorine:

                             sodium
(on the left) loses its one
valence electron to chlorine
(on the right),
   resulting in

                             a
positively charged sodium ion
(left) and a negatively charged
chlorine ion (right).
The reaction of sodium with chlorine
Concept simulation - Reenacts the reaction of sodium with chlorine.
(Flash required)
Metal Facts
 Aluminum most abundant metal in the Earth’s
crust.
 Iron second most abundant. Metals must be
dug or mined from earth’s crust.

 Iron is most widely used metal (steel), cobalt

is sometimes used in steel.
 Nickel gives it the shiny color.
Nonmetals and Metalloids
Where are they located on the
periodic table?

What are the properties of

nonmetals and metalloids?
What is a Nonmetal?
 17 Nonmetals
located to the right
of the zig-zag line
on the periodic
table.

 Physical properties
are the opposite of
metals.
Physical Properties
 Dull, brittle, low
densities, poor
conductors of heat and
electricity.

 Many non metals are

gases at room
Temperature which
means they have low
boiling points.
Chemical Properties
 Most nonmetals form compounds. They
gain or share electrons.

 Family – Group 18 do not. This is

because they have 8 valence electrons
in their outermost energy level.
Compounds of Nonmetals
 When nonmetals
and metals react the
valence electron
moves from the
metal to the
nonmetal.
Compounds of Nonmetals
 Nonmetals can also form compounds with other
nonmetals.

 Atoms share electrons and become bonded

together.

 Molecules that contain only 2 atoms are called

diatomic molecules. (oxygen, nitrogen,
hydrogen)
Attracting Electrons
 Most nonmetals
form both ionic and
covalent
compounds.
 When a nonmetal
gains electrons from
metals the
nonmetals become
negative ions in
ionic compounds
Bonding with other nonmetals
 Atoms of nonmetals
share electrons to
form covalent
 
                                          
                                         
compounds.

 NH3
Covalent Bond
 The idea of covalent bonding can be
traced to Gilbert N. Lewis, who in 1916
described the sharing of electron pairs
between atoms.
 First Energy Level: 2
Second Energy Level: 8
Third Energy Level: 8
Atomic Structure

Families of Nonmetals

Group 18 is the only family that

consists of all nonmetals.
Carbon Family
 4 valence electrons
 Carbon is the only nonmetal.

 All living things contain compounds that

are made of carbon atoms.
Nitrogen Family
 Group 15 – 5 valence electrons

 Atmosphere is 80 % nitrogen.
Oxygen Family

 Group 16, 6 valence electrons.

 Usually gain or share 2 valence electrons.
 Oxygen is a diatomic molecule
 Oxygen is very reactive – it can combine
with nearly all elements.
 Most abundant element in the Earth’s
crust, 2nd most abundant in the
atmosphere.
Halogen Family
 Group 17 contains fluorine, chlorine,
bromine, iodine, astatine.
 7 valence electrons, gains or shares one
valence electrons when it reacts.
Noble Gases

 Group 18, do not mix with others.

 Do not gain, share, lose electrons.
 Chemically stable because they have a
full outer energy level.
Hydrogen
 Alone in the upper left corner.
 Simplest element – usually its atoms
contain one proton and one electron.
 Hydrogen is rarely found on Earth as an
element. Usually combined with
oxygen as water.
Metalloids
 On the border between metals and nonmetals.
 Have characteristics of metals and nonmetals
 Most useful property is the varying ability to
conduct electricity..
 Used to make semiconductors which are
substances that under some conditions can
carry electricity like a metal, while other
conditions cannot carry electricity like a
nonmetal. Used to make computer chips.