Classifying Elements and Predicting Properties:

Periodic table

 Elements are arranged on the Periodic table in order of increasing atomic

number, where each element has one proton more than the element
preceding it.
 The table is arranged in vertical columns called Groups numbered 1 – 8 and
in rows called Periods.

 Period: these are the horizontal rows that show the number of shells of
electrons an atom has.
o E.g.: elements in Period 2 have two electron shells; elements in Period
3 have three electron shells.

 Group: these are the vertical columns that show how many outer electrons
each atom has.
o E.g.: Group 4 elements have atoms with 4 electrons in the outermost
shell; Group 6 elements have atoms with 6 electrons in the outermost
shell.
All elements are arranged in the order of increasing atomic number from left to
right

Predicting properties using the Periodic table

 Because there are patterns in the way the elements are arranged on the
Periodic table, there are also patterns and trends in the chemical behaviour
of the elements.
 There are trends in properties down Groups and across a Period.
 All of the Group I elements, for example, react very quickly with water.
 In this way the Periodic table can be used to predict how a particular element
will behave.

Element Trends and Electronic Configurations

The metallic character of the elements

 The metallic character of the elements decreases as you move across a

Period on the Periodic table, from left to right, and it increases as you move
down a Group.
 This trend occurs due to atoms more readily accepting electrons to fill
their valence shells rather than losing them to have the below, already full,
electron shell as their outer shell.
 Metals occur on the left-hand side of the Periodic table and non-metals on
the right-hand side.
 Between the metals and the non-metals lie the elements which display some
properties of both.
 These elements are referred to as metalloids or semi-metals.

Properties of metals and non-metals

A zig – zag line in this diagram separates the metals on the left, from the non –
metals on the right

Electronic configuration and the Periodic table

 The electronic configuration is the arrangement of electrons into shells for

an atom (e.g. electronic configuration of carbon is 2, 4).
 There is a link between the electronic configuration of the elements and their
position on the Periodic table.
 The number of notations in the electronic configuration will show the number
of shells of electrons the atom has, showing the Period.
  The last notation shows the number of outer electrons the atom has, showing
the Group number.

Example: Electronic configuration of Chlorine:

The electronic configuration of chlorine as it should be written

Period: The red numbers at the bottom show the number of notations which is 3,
showing that a chlorine atom has 3 shells of electrons.

Group: The green box highlights the last notation which is 7, showing that a chlorine
atom has 7 outer electrons.

The position of chlorine on the Periodic table

Chemical properties of elements in the same group

 Elements in the same Group in the Periodic table have similar chemical
properties.
 When atoms collide and react, it is the outermost electrons that interact.
 The similarity in their chemical properties stems from having the same
number of electrons in their outer shell.
 For example, both lithium and sodium are in Group 1 and can react with
elements in Group 7 to form an ionic compound (charges of Group 1 ions are
+1, charges of Group 7 ions are -1).
Element Trends and Electronic Configurations
The Group I metals

 The Group I metals are also called the alkali metals as they form alkaline
solutions with high pH values when reacted with water.
 Group 1 metals are lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium and
francium.
 They all contain just one electron in their outer shell.

Physical properties of the Group I metals

 The Group I metals:

o Are soft and easy to cut, getting softer and more dense as you move
down the Group (sodium and potassium do not follow the trend in
density).
o Have shiny silvery surfaces when freshly cut.
o Conduct heat and electricity.
o They all have low melting points and low densities and the melting
point decreases as you move down the Group.

The alkali metals lie on the far left-hand side of the Periodic table

Chemical properties of the Group I metals

 They react readily with oxygen and water vapour in air so they are usually
kept under oil to stop them from reacting.
 Group 1 metals will react similarly with water, reacting vigorously to produce
an alkaline metal hydroxide solution and hydrogen gas.
Reactions of the Group I metals and water

Electronic configuration and reactivity in Group I

The electronic configuration of the first three elements in Group I

Explaining the trend in reactivity in Group I

  The reactivity of the Group 1 metals increases as you go down the group.
 Each outer shell contains only one electron so when they react, they lose the
outer electron which empties the outermost shell.
 The next shell down automatically becomes the outermost shell and
is already full; hence the atom obtains an electronic configuration which has
a full outer shell of electrons.
 As you go down Group 1, the number of shells of electrons increases by 1
(Period number increases down the Periodic table).
 This means that the outer electron is further away from the nucleus so there
are weaker electrostatic forces of attraction.
 This requires less energy to overcome the electrostatic forces of attraction
between the negatively charged electron and the positively charged nucleus.
 This allows the electron to be lost easily, making it more reactive as you go
down the Group.

Properties of other Alkali Metals (Rubidium, Caesium and Francium):

 As the reactivity of alkali metals increases down the Group, rubidium, caesium
and francium will react more vigorously with air and water.
 Lithium will be the least reactive at the top and francium will be
the most reactive at the bottom.
 Francium is rare and radioactive so is difficult to confirm predictions.

Predicted Reaction with Water

Group VII Properties and Trends

The halogens

 These are the Group 7 non-metals that are poisonous and include fluorine,
chlorine, bromine, iodine and astatine.
 Halogens are diatomic, meaning they form molecules of two atoms.
 All halogens have seven electrons in their outer shell.
 They form halide ions by gaining one more electron to complete their outer
shells.
Colours and States at Room Temperature

Trends in Physical Properties of the halogens

Melting Point

The density and melting and boiling points of the halogens increase as you go down
the Group.

Graph showing the melting and boiling points of halogens

State at Room Temperature

 At room temperature (20 °C), the physical state of the halogens changes as
you go down the Group.
 Chlorine is a gas, bromine is a liquid and iodine is a solid.
 The physical state of the halogens at room temperature

Colour

 The halogens become darker as you go down the group.

 Chlorine is pale green, bromine is red-brown and iodine is black.

The colours of the halogens

Electronic configuration and reactivity in Group VII

The electronic configuration of the first three elements in Group VII

Explaining the trend in reactivity in Group I

 Reactivity of Group 7 non-metals increases as you go up the Group.

 Each outer shell contains seven electrons and when they react, they will need
to gain one outer electron to get a full outer shell of electrons.
 As you go up Group 7, the number of shells of electrons decreases (Period
number decreases moving up the Periodic Table).
 This means that the outer electrons are closer to the nucleus so there
are stronger electrostatic forces of attraction that attract the extra electron
needed.
 This allows an electron to be attracted more readily, so the higher up the
element is in Group 7 then the more reactive it is.

Reaction of the halogens with halide ions in displacement reactions

 A halogen displacement reaction occurs when a more reactive halogen

displaces a less reactive halogen from an aqueous solution of its halide.
 The reactivity of Group 7 non-metals increases as you move up the Group.
 Out of the 3 halogens, chlorine, bromine and iodine, chlorine is the most
reactive and iodine is the least reactive.

Aqueous Solution Colour of Halogens

Halogen displacement reactions

Chlorine and bromine

 If you add chlorine solution to colourless potassium bromide solution, the

solution becomes orange as bromine is formed.
 Chlorine is above bromine in Group 7 so is more reactive.
 Chlorine will therefore displace bromine from an aqueous solution of metal
bromide.

Potassium Bromide + Chlorine → Potassium Chloride + Bromine

2KBr (aq) + Cl2 (aq) → 2KCl (aq) + Br2(aq)

Bromine and iodine

 Bromine is above iodine in Group 7 so is more reactive.

 Bromine will therefore displace iodine from an aqueous solution of metal
iodide.

Bromine + Magnesium Iodide → Magnesium Bromide + Iodine

Br2 (l) + 2MgI (aq) → 2MgBr (aq) + I2 (aq or s)

Properties of the other Halogens (Fluorine and Astatine)

Melting and Boiling Point

 The melting and boiling point of the halogens increases as you go down the
Group.
 Fluorine is at the top of Group 7 so will have the lowest melting and boiling
point.
 Astatine is at the bottom of Group 7 so will have the highest melting and
boiling point.

Physical States
  The halogens become harder as you go down the Group.
 Fluorine is at the top of Group 7 so will be a gas.
 Astatine is at the bottom of Group 7 so will be a solid.

Colour

 The colour of the halogens becomes darker as you go down the Group.
 Fluorine is at the top of Group 7 so the colour will be lighter, so fluorine
is yellow.
 Astatine is at the bottom of Group 7 so the colour will be darker, so astatine
is black.

Transition Elements
General properties of the transition elements

 They are very hard and strong metals and are good conductors
of heat and electricity.
 They have very high melting points and are highly dense metals.
 E.g.: the melting point of titanium is 1,688ºC whereas potassium melts at only
63.5ºC, slightly warmer than the average cup of hot chocolate!
 The transition metals form coloured compounds and often have more than
one oxidation state.
 Transition metals are often used as catalysts.
 The transition elements on the Periodic table

Variable oxidation states

 The transition elements have more than one oxidation state, as they can
lose a different number of electrons, depending on the chemical environment
they are in.
 Iron for example can lose two electrons to form Fe2+ or three electrons to
form Fe3+.
 Compounds containing transition elements in different oxidation states will
have different properties and colours.

The colours produced by ions of the transition elements

Uses of the transition elements

 The transition elements are used extensively as catalysts due to their ability
to interchange between a range of oxidation states.
 This allows them to form complexes with reagents which can
easily donate and accept electrons from other chemical species within a
reaction system.
 They are used in medicine and surgical applications such as limb and joint
replacement (titanium is often used for this as it can bond with bones due to
its high biocompatibility).
 They are also used to form coloured compounds
in dyes and paints, stained glass jewellery.

Noble Gases Properties and Electronic Structure

The Noble gases

 The Noble gases are in Group VIII (or Group O) and have
very low melting and boiling points.
 They are all monatomic, colourless gases.
 The Group 0 elements all have full outer shells.
  This electronic configuration is extremely stable so these elements are
unreactive and are inert.
 Electronic configurations of the Noble gases:
o He 2
o Ne 2, 8
o Ar 2, 8, 8
o Kr 2, 8, 18, 8
o Xe 2, 8, 18, 18, 8

Noble gases are inert (unreactive) as they have a full outer shell of electrons
so do not easily lose or gain electrons

Uses of the Noble gases

 Helium is used for filling balloons and weather balloons as it is less

dense than air and does not burn.
 Neon, argon and xenon are used in advertising signs.
 Argon is used to provide an inert atmosphere for welding.
 Argon is also used to fill electric light bulbs as it is inert.