The Order Among the Elements

There are 118 elements in the periodic tableRows are known as periods (7 periods)Columns are Groups or Families (18 Groups)

Some groups are given names, and some are just simply group due to similarities in electron configuration. Though they might be in the same groups, they could be exempted due to some reasons like some are radioactive and are artificially prepared.

Metals characterized by high electrical conductivity, atoms readily

lose electrons to form positive ions (cations).Non-metals poor conductors of heat and electricity when compared to

metals they form acidic oxides (whereas metals generally form

basic oxides) in solid form, they are dull and brittle they have significantly lower melting points and boiling

points than metals have high electronegativitySemi-metals (Metalloids) Have properties like non-metals but could conduct limited

amount of electricity (e.g. Silicon)

Determines the shell or energy level

Group 1 / IA : Alkali MetalsThe alkali metals are all highly reactive and

are never found in elemental form in nature. As a result, in the laboratory they are stored under mineral oil or paraffin oil. They also tarnish easily and have low melting points and densities.

The alkali metals are silver-colored, soft, low-density metals, which react readily with halogens to form ionic salts, and with water to form strongly alkaline (basic) hydroxides. These elements all have one electron in their outermost shell, so the energetically preferred state of achieving a filled electron shell is to lose one electron to form a singly charged positive ion, i.e. cation.

Group 2 / IIA: The Alkali Earth MetalsThese elements melt at such high

temperature that they remain solids (“earths”) in fires. With the exception of Be and Mg, the metals have a distinguishable flame color, orange-red for Ca, magenta-red for Sr, green for Ba and crimson red for Ra.

The alkaline earth metals are silver colored, soft metals, which react readily with halogens to form ionic salts, and with water, though not as rapidly as the alkali metals, to form strong alkaline (basic) hydroxides.

Group 3Group 3 elements are generally hard metals

with low aqueous solubility, and have low availability to the biosphere. No group 3 has any documented biological role in living organisms. The radioactivity of the actinides generally makes them highly toxic to living cells.

IUPAC has not recommended a specific format for the periodic table, so different conventions are permitted and are often used for group 3. The following d-block transition metals are always considered members of group 3 which are Scandium and Yttrium

Group 4The group itself has not acquired a trivial

name; it belongs to the broader grouping of the transition metals. The three Group 4 elements that occur naturally are titanium(Ti), zirconium (Zr) and hafnium (Hf) and the radioactive rutherfordium (Rf). All isotopes of rutherfordium are radioactive, and have been synthesized in the laboratory, none of them have been found occurring in nature.

As tetravalent transition metals, all four elements forms various inorganic compounds, generally in the oxidation state of +4.

Group 5Like other groups, the members of this

family show patterns in its electron configuration, especially the outermost shells, though niobium curiously does not follow the trend.

Group 6Like other groups, the members of this

family show patterns in its electron configuration, especially the outermost shells resulting in trends in chemical behavior.

Group 7All of these elements are classed in Group 7

because their valence shells hold seven electrons.

Group 8All of these elements are classed in Group 8 because their valence shells hold eight electrons.

Group 9Like other groups, the members of this family show patterns in its electron configuration, especially the outermost shells resulting in trends in chemical behavior, though rhodium curiously does not follow the pattern.

Group 10Group ten metals are white to light grey in color, and possess a high luster, a resistance to tarnish(oxidation) at STP, are highly ductile, and enter into oxidation states of +2 and +4, with +1 being seen in special conditions. The existence of a +3 state is debated, as the state could be an illusory state created by +2 and +4 states

Group 11The name "coinage metals" should not be used

as an alternative name for Group 11 elements and is not recognized by the IUPAC. They are all relatively inert, corrosion-resistant metals long used to mint coins, hence their name. Copper and gold are colored. These elements have low electrical resistivity so they are used for wiring.

Group 12All elements in this group are metals. All three

metals have relatively low melting and boiling points, which indicates that the metallic bond is relatively weak.

Group 13: Boron GroupThe group has previously also been referred to as

the earth metals . These elements are characterized by having three electrons in their outer energy levels. Boron is considered a metalloid, and the rest are considered metals of the poor metals groups.

Group 14: Carbon GroupEach of the elements in this group has 4 electrons

in its outer energy level. The last orbital of all these elements is the p2 orbital. In most cases, the elements share their electrons. Carbon alone forms negative ions, Silicon and germanium, both metalloids, each can form +4 ions, Tin and lead both are metals while ununquadium is a synthetic short lived radioactive metal. Tin and lead are both capable of forming +2 ions.

Group 15: Nitrogen GroupThis group has the defining characteristic that

all the component elements have 5 electrons in their outermost shell, that is 2 electrons in the s subshell and 3 unpaired electrons in the p subshell.

These elements are also noted for their stability in compounds due to their tendency for forming double and triple covalent bonds. This is the property of these elements which leads to their potential toxicity, most evident in phosphorus, arsenic and antimony.

The nitrogen group consists of two non-metals, two metalloids, and one metal. All the elements in the group are a solid at room temperature except for Nitrogen which is a gas at room temperature.

Group 16/VIA: Chalcogens or The Oxygen FamilyThe name means "ore former" from the Greek chalcos "ore" and -gen "formation“.

Oxygen and sulfur are nonmetals, and polonium, selenium, and tellurium are metalloid semiconductors. Tellurium and selenium are often referred to as a metal when in elemental form.

Metal chalcogenides are common as minerals.

Group 17/VIIA: Halogens The group of halogens is the only periodic table

group which contains elements in all three familiar states of matter at STP.

Owing to their high reactivity, the halogens are found in the environment only in compounds or as ions.

Etymology: hals (sea) or halas (salt), and gen- (to generate)—referring to elements which produce a salt in union with a metal.

Halogens are highly reactive, and as such can be harmful or lethal to biological organisms in sufficient quantities.

Group 18/ 0: The Noble Gases

The noble gases are a group of chemical elements with very similar properties: under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases, with a very low chemical reactivity.

They were once labeled group 0 in the periodic table because it was believed they had a valence of zero, meaning their atoms cannot combine with those of other elements to form compounds. However, it was later discovered some do indeed form compounds, causing this label to fall into disuse.

Neon, argon, krypton, and xenon are obtained from air using the methods of liquefaction of gases and fractional distillation.

Lanthanides / Lanthanoids

The Lanthanoid series comprises the fifteen elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71, from lanthanum to lutetium. All lanthanoids are f-block elements, corresponding to the filling of the 4f electron shell, except for lutetium which is a d-block lanthanoid. The lanthanoid series (Ln) is named after lanthanum.

The trivial name "rare earths" is sometimes used to describe all the lanthanoids together with scandium and yttrium. The term "rare earths" arises from the minerals from which they were isolated, which were uncommon oxide-type minerals.

Lanthanoids entering the human body due to exposure to various industrial processes can affect metabolic processes.

Most lanthanoids are widely used in lasers. These elements deflect ultraviolet and infrared radiation and are commonly used in the production of sunglass lenses.

Actinoids / Actinides

The actinoid series derives its name from the first element in the series, actinium, and ultimately from the Greek (aktis), "ray," reflecting the elements' radioactivity.

All actinoids are radioactive.

Only thorium and uranium occur naturally in the Earth's crust in anything more than trace quantities. protactinium and actinium, which are both decay products of uranium, are the only remaining actinoids that were discovered in nature before they were synthesized.

Neptunium and plutonium have also been known to show up naturally in trace amounts in uranium ores as a result of decay or bombardment, but this was only discovered after they were synthesized.

The remaining actinoids were discovered in nuclear fallout or were synthesized in particle colliders, and none of them has been found to occur naturally on earth.