The Periodic Table

Why is the Periodic Table important to me? The periodic table is the most useful tool to a chemist. You get to use it on every test. It organizes lots of information about all the known elements.

Pre-Periodic Table Chemistry … …was a mess!!! No organization of elements. Imagine going to a grocery store with no organization!! Difficult to find information. Chemistry didn’t make sense.

Dmitri Mendeleev: Father of the Table HOW HIS WORKED… Put elements in rows by increasing atomic weight. Put elements in columns by the way they reacted. SOME PROBLEMS… He left blank spaces for what he said were undiscovered elements. (Turned out he was right!) He broke the pattern of increasing atomic weight to keep similar reacting elements together.

Breaking the pattern of increasing atomic weight…

The First Periodic Table Dmitri Mendeleev

The Current Periodic Table Mendeleev wasn’t too far off. Now the elements are put in rows by increasing ATOMIC NUMBER!! The horizontal rows are called periods and are labeled from 1 to 7. The vertical columns are called groups and are labeled from 1 to 18.

Groups…Here’s Where the Periodic Table Gets Useful!! Elements in the same group have similar chemical and physical properties!! (Mendeleev did that on purpose.) Elements in the”A” groups are called representative elements. Why?? They have the same number of valence electrons. They will form the same kinds of ions.

Families on the Periodic Table Columns are also grouped into families. Families may be one column, or several columns put together. Families have names rather than numbers. (Just like your family has a common last name.)

Hydrogen Hydrogen belongs to a family of its own. Hydrogen is a diatomic, reactive gas. Hydrogen was involved in the explosion of the Hindenberg. Hydrogen is promising as an alternative fuel source for automobiles

Alkali Metals 1st column on the periodic table (Group 1) not including hydrogen. Very reactive metals, always combined with something else in nature (like in salt). Soft enough to cut with a butter knife

Alkaline Earth Metals Second column on the periodic table. (Group 2) Reactive metals that are always combined with nonmetals in nature. Several of these elements are important mineral nutrients (such as Mg and Ca

Transition Metals Elements in groups 3-12 Less reactive harder metals Includes metals used in jewelry and construction. Metals used “as metal.”

Boron Family Elements in group 13 Aluminum metal was once rare and expensive, not a “disposable metal.”

Carbon Family Elements in group 14 Contains elements important to life and computers. Carbon is the basis for an entire branch of chemistry. Silicon and Germanium are important semiconductors.

Nitrogen Family Elements in group 15 Nitrogen makes up over ¾ of the atmosphere. Nitrogen and phosphorus are both important in living things. Most of the world’s nitrogen is not available to living things. The red stuff on the tip of matches is phosphorus.

Oxygen Family or Chalcogens Elements in group 16 Oxygen is necessary for respiration. Many things that stink, contain sulfur (rotten eggs, garlic, skunks,etc.)

Halogens Elements in group 17 Very reactive, volatile, diatomic, nonmetals Always found combined with other element in nature . Used as disinfectants and to strengthen teeth.

The Noble Gases Elements in group 18 VERY unreactive, monatomic gases Used in lighted “neon” signs Used in blimps to fix the Hindenberg problem. Have a full valence shell.

Why was it that elements in the same group have similar chemical and physical properties? Same number of electrons in the valence shell!

More trends of the Periodic Table: Atomic Radius

More trends of the Periodic Table: Atomic Radius and Effective Nuclear Charge (ZEff)

Effective nuclear charge

More trends of the Periodic Table: Atomic Radius as a function of Effective Nuclear Charge (ZEff)

More trends of the Periodic Table: Atomic Radius Why the jump at the alkali metals?

More trends of the Periodic Table: Atomic Radius as a predictor of bond lengths

More trends of the Periodic Table: Atomic Radius vs. Ionic Radius Why? Generally, metals lose electrons to achieve the octet. This creates a larger positive charge in the nucleus than the negative charge in the electron cloud, causing the electron cloud to be drawn a little closer to the nucleus as an ion. Metals - the atomic radius of a metal is generally larger than the ionic radius of the same element.

More trends of the Periodic Table: Atomic Radius vs. Ionic Radius Non-metals - the atomic radius of a non-metal is generally smaller than the ionic radius of the same element. Why? Generally, non-metals gain electrons to achieve the octet. This creates a larger negative charge in the electron cloud than positive charge in the nucleus, causing the electron cloud to 'puff out' a little bit as an ion. 

Ionic Radius vs. Atomic Radius

More trends of the Periodic Table: Ionization Energy – Energy required to remove an electron

More trends of the Periodic Table: Ionization Energy Period - ionization energy increases as you go from left to right across a period. Why? Effective nuclear charge increases across a period from left to right, while shielding remains constant. The means it will require more energy to remove the outer most electron as you move right.

Group - ionization energy decreases as you go down a group. More trends of the Periodic Table: Ionization Energy Group - ionization energy decreases as you go down a group. Why? The shielding effect makes it easier to remove the outer most electrons as you move down through each family, because the attraction between the valence electrons and the nucleus decreases.

More trends of the Periodic Table: Electronegativity – The tendency for the atoms of the element to attract electrons when they are chemically combined with atoms of another element.

More trends of the Periodic Table: Electronegativity Period - electronegativity increases as you go from left to right across a period. Why? The atoms are getting smaller in radius with more protons in the nucleus, so they have more ability to attract other elements' electrons and pull them toward themselves.

Group - electronegativity decreases as you go down a group. More trends of the Periodic Table: Electronegativity Group - electronegativity decreases as you go down a group. Why? The atoms are getting larger in radius with more shielding, so they have less and less ability to attract electrons from another atom and pull them toward themselves.

This is usually determined by two things: More trends of the Periodic Table: Reactivity Reactivity refers to how likely or vigorously an atom is to react with other substances. This is usually determined by two things: How easily electrons can be removed (ionization energy) from an atom or how badly an atom wants to take other atom's electrons (electronegativity)

The transfer/interaction of electrons is the basis of chemical reactions!

Reactivity of Metals More trends of the Periodic Table: Reactivity Period - reactivity decreases as you go from left to right across a period. Group - reactivity increases as you go down a group Why? The farther to the left and down the periodic chart you go, the easier it is for electrons to be given or taken away, resulting in higher reactivity.

Reactivity of Non-Metals More trends of the Periodic Table: Reactivity Reactivity of Non-Metals Period - reactivity increases as you go from the left to the right across a period. Group - reactivity decreases as you go down the group. Why? The farther right and up you go on the periodic table, the higher the electronegativity, resulting in a more vigorous exchange of electron.

Summary of Periodic Trends