Family Names & Navigating the Periodic Table

Part 1 Metals, Nonmetals & Metalloids

 Highlight this stair-step line to separate the metals from the non-metals

 Everything above and to the right is a nonmetal

Nonmetals  Tend to gain electrons  Form negative ions (-)  Do not conduct electricity  Are brittle (unmalleable)

 Everything below and to the left is a metal

Metals  Tend to lose electrons  Form positive ions (+)  Are malleable and ductile  Conduct electricity

Metalloids  Mark these with an *:  B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te, Po  These sometimes act like a metal, sometimes like a nonmetal.

Part II Families in the Periodic table

Important definition: Valence Electrons  Valence electrons are the number of electrons in the outer-most energy level (outer-most shell) of an atom  They are completely responsible for how an element reacts with other elements.

Elements are arranged in Families: Groups or Columns (i.e up and down)  Families have similar properties  Usually have the same number of valence electrons  React similarly

Alkali Metals  The first column  One valence electron  Explosively reactive  Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr  Form bases (alkaline) solutions

Alkaline Earth Metals  Are the second column  Have two valence electrons  Stable in air, but  React quickly with a little energy  Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra  Make up many minerals

Transition Metals are everything in Columns  Tend to be what we think of when we think metals  Cr – Chrome, Au – Gold, Fe – Iron, Cu – Copper  Have no rule for valence electrons

Noble Gases  are the very last column  Have eight valence electrons except Helium (He) has 2  Are very stable  Do not react with anything (usually)

Halogens  Column 17 next to noble gases  Have seven valence electrons  Extremely reactive  F, Cl, Br, I, At  Often used to kill bacteria  (think choline bleach, bromine in spas or pools)

 13:Boron Family, 3 valence electrons  14: Carbon Family, 4 valence electrons  15:Nitrogen Family, 5 valence electrons  16: Oxygen Family, 6 valence electrons

 The Two rows separated at the bottom are the Rare Earth Metals and are referred to by the first element in their row

The First Row are the Lanthanides, After La, Lanthanum The Second Row are the Actinides, after Ac, Actinium

 Everything bigger than Uranium (#92) is human-made.  They are created in a laboratory rather than “discovered”.  They are all radioactive and most only stay together for less than a second.