1. Groups
Chemical Families

2. Learning About Groups/Families
Group 1: Alkali Metals
Group 2: Alkaline Earth Metals
Groups 3 – 12: The Transition Metals
Groups 13 – 16: The BCNO Family
Group 17: The Halogens
Group 18: The Noble Gases

3. Group 1: The Alkali Metal Family
Common Properties:
Metals
Soft
Silvery white
Extremely reactive
Will burn skin upon touch
Tarnish rapidly
React violently with water
Easily form salts with Halogens
Each burns a different color

4. Group 2: The Alkaline Earth Metals
Common Properties:
Soft
Silvery-white
High melting points
High densities
Reactive. Will react with water
May be handled by humans
Oxidize or tarnish in air
Never found in nature in pure form
Good conductors of electricity
Each element burns a different color
Many used in fireworks

5. Groups 3 – 12: Transition Metals
Common Properties:
All metals
Hard
Strong
Shiny
Very high melting and boiling points (except Hg)
Good conductors of heat and electricity
Most will dissolve in acid

6. Groups 13 – 16: The BCNO Family
Sometimes divided into 2 or 4 families
Very diverse family
Named by symbol at the top of column
Contains metals, non-metals, and metalloids
Some are gases, most are solids
Reactive, but selective
No hard, fast rules that fit all elements in this family except members in each column tend to bond with other elements in a similar fashion

7. Group 17: The Halogens Common Properties: Poisonous Non-metals
Very reactive
Never found in pure forms in nature
Poor conductors of electricity
Combine with alkali metals to form a family of compounds called “salts”

8. Group 18: The Nobel Gases Common Properties All gases Odorless
Tasteless
Colorless
Extremely NON-reactive

9. Lanthanide Series Common Properties Soft, silvery metals Reactive
Will burn in oxygen or air
Tarnish rapidly in air
Poor conductors of electricity
Will spark when struck

10. Actinide Series Common Properties: All radioactive Silvery metals
Reactive