Basics: How To Read The Table Flashcards
What is the periodic table?
The periodic table contains all the known elements.
Different elements join together chemically to make compounds, but the periodic table only contains the elements.
So, for example, while water isn’t found in the table, the elements it is composed of, hydrogen and oxygen, both are.
Everything in the universe is made of different combinations of elements and the elements that make up our world originated in the stars.
What is an element?
Elements are substances that contain only one type of atom.
An atom is the basic building block for all matter – they’re not the smallest or simplest particles that exist, but they are the smallest, simplest parts of an element and they uniquely define each one, depending on their composition.
What are the numbers displayed with each element on the periodic table?
Periodic tables generally display two numbers with each element. The smaller number is the atomic number. This is the number of protons, which is unique to each element and doesn’t change. The larger number is the relative atomic mass of an element – the higher the number, the greater its mass.
Why is the periodic table structure important beyond listing elements?
Within the table, the arrangement of the elements means that their properties vary periodically.
As you move along each row or period, there are repeating patterns in the chemical and physical properties of the elements in each one.
For example, you’ll find metals on the left-hand side and non-metals on the right.
Chemists can make predictions about elements based on where they are in the periodic table.
Elements in the same column or group have similar properties and within each group their properties vary in a predictable way. The block in the middle of the table, beginning in the fourth period, contains the transition elements. The transition elements are metals and often react with other elements to form brightly coloured compounds. They are usually relatively hard and are often used as catalysts (they help speed up chemical reactions, without being used up in the reactions themselves).
The periodic table is useful to chemists because of the way the elements are arranged but this didn’t happen quickly or by chance.
Several scientists arranged the elements they knew about in different ways before Dmitri Mendeleev arranged them as they are today.
This was impressive, because he left gaps for elements that hadn’t been discovered yet and he did this before we fully understood the structure and composition of atoms.
For example, elements towards the bottom of the first group react more readily than the elements higher up in the group.
The periodic law
The properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers.
Describe the modern arrangement of elements on the periodic table
Elements are arranged by increasing order of their atomic numbers and groups atoms with similar properties in the same vertical property.
Each box represents an element and contains its atomic number, symbol, average atomic mass, and sometimes the name.
Describe the rows and columns of the periodic table
The elements are arranged in seven (7) horizontal rows, called periods or series, and 18 vertical columns, called groups.
Groups are labeled 1-18 at the top of each column.
There are 14 columns written below the main body of the table so the entire table may fit on one page.
Actinide
inner transition metal in the bottom of the bottom two rows of the periodic table.
All are radioactive, the heavier members being extremely unstable and not of natural occurrence, with the exception of actinium, thorium, and uranium.
Describe and locate alkali metals
the six (6) elements in group (column) one (1).
These are grouped together because these elements act with water to form alkalis (strong bases capable of neutralizing acids).
Describe and locate alkaline earth metals
the six (6) elements in group (column) two (2).
These are grouped together because their oxides and hydroxides are alkaline in nature and these metal oxides are found in the earth’s crust.
List the alkali metals
Lithium (Li)
Sodium (Na)
Potassium (K)
Rubidium (Rb)
Caesium (Cs)
Francium (Fr)
List the alkaline earth metals
Beryllium (Be)
Magnesium (Mg)
Calcium (Ca)
Strontium (Sr)
Barium (Ba)
Radium (Ra)
Describe and locate the transition metals
the twenty nine(29) elements in groups (columns) three through twelve (3-12).
These are grouped together because they are considered typical metals with properties such as a superior ability to conduct electricity and heat. They also have the metallic properties of luster, malleability, and ductility. In addition, transition metals have high melting and boiling points and high density.
The additional 30 “inner transition metals” include the lanthanides (columns 57-71), which are considered reactive for transition metals, and actinides (columns 89-103), which are radioactive.
List the main transition metals
Scandium (Sc)
Titanium (Ti)
Chromium (Cr)
Manganese (Mn)
Iron (Fe)
Cobalt (Co)
Nickel (Ni)
Copper (Cu)
Zinc (Zn)
Yttrium (Y)
Zirconium (Zr)
Niobium (Nb)
Molybdenum (Mo)
Technetium (Tc)
Ruthenium (Ru)
Rhodium (Rh)
Palladium (Pd)
Silver (Ag)
Cadmium (Cd)
Hafnium (Hf)
Tantalium (Ta)
Tungsten (W)
Rhenium (Re)
Osmium (Os)
Iridium (Ir)
Platinum (Pt)
Gold (Au)
Mercury (Hg)
List the lanthanide inner transition metals
Lanthanum (La)
Cerium (Ce)
Praseodymium (Pr)
Neodymium (Nd)
Samarium (Sm)
Europium (Eu)
Gadolinium (Gd)
Terbium (Tb)
Dysprosium (Dy)
Holmium (Ho)
Erbium (Er)
Thulium (Tm)
Ytterbium (Yb)
Lutetium (Lu)
