The Periodic Table of Elements:

Trends Explained by Atomic Theory

 Building the Periodic Table

• 1869 – Dmitri Mendeleev arranged the 63 known

elements into the periodic table

• Elements are in ascending order (small to big) by

atomic weight and grouped by similar properties

Crazy Genius Moment:

Mendeleev predicted the existence of elements that had yet to

be discovered and corrected accepted atomic weights that
were wrong
 Elements as Building Blocks
• Periodic Table is organized like a big grid
• Elements are placed in specific places
because of how they look and act.
• There are rows (left to right) and columns
(up and down)
• Rows and columns mean different things
 Elements as Building Blocks
• Elements go in order from left to right by
their Atomic Number
• Atomic Number = the number of protons
in one atom of a specific element
Atomic #

Atomic Mass

• Atomic Mass = mass of protons, neutrons

and electrons in an element
Periods (Rows)
• All of the rows go left to
right (even if there’s
big gaps in the row)
• Each row is a different
period.
• Elements in the same
period have the same
number of orbitals.
• The row number (1-7)
tells you how many
orbitals they have
 1st and 2nd Period
• Period 1: Hydrogen & Helium
• 1 orbital

• Period 2: Lithium, Beryllium,

Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen,
Oxygen, Fluorine, Neon
• 2 orbitals

• elements in a period have

the same number of atomic
orbitals
 Groups (Columns)
• When a column goes from
top to bottom, it’s called a
GROUP
• Groups have a common
property: number of outer
(valence) electrons
• Valence Electron: the
number of electrons in the
outer most orbital
– Group 1 (red stripe) has 1
valence electron
– Group 3 (yellow stripe) has 3
** Transi0on elements (clear
valence electrons
blocks) are an excep0on
– Group 8 (purple stripe) has 8
valence electrons
 Metals
• Almost 75% of elements are metals
• Not all of them are shiny like gold and
silver!
• Characteristics of metals:
– Good conductors of electricity (Ag, Cu)
– Reactive (form compounds easily) (Na, K)
– Solid at room temperature
– Form alloys (combine 2+ metals) (steel, bronze)
 Nonmetals
• Found just above the
“staircase” in Groups
4 through 8.
• Not good conductors
of electricity or heat.
• Found only as a gas
or solid at room
temperature.
• Examples:
– Hydrogen, Nitrogen,
Oxygen, Sulfur, etc.
 Metalloids
• Found along the “staircase” on the
Periodic Table.
• Share properties of both metals and
nonmetals.
 Special Group Names: Families
• Several groups have special names and are
called families
– Group 1: Alkali Metals
– Group 2: Alkaline-Earth Metals
– Group 7: Halogen Gases
– Group 8: Noble Gases
– Groups 1B-8B (middle): Transition Metals

• Families are grouped by their chemical

properties
- Reactivity - Valence Electrons -Radioactivity
 Family: Alkali Metals
• Notice that Hydrogen is NOT
part of this family. It’s in group
1, but it’s NOT an alkali metal
• Family Members:
• Lithium (Li), Sodium (Na),
Potassium (K), Rubidium (Rb),
Cesium (Cs) and Francium (Fr).

•These are VERY reactive because they have

one electron in their outer shell.
•That’s one away from having a full shell. When
you are that close to having a full shell, you want
to bond with other elements and lose that
electron.
•Increased desire to bond = greater reactivity
 Family: Alkaline Earth Metals
•They live in group 2
•Family Members:
Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca),
Strontium (Sr), Barium (Ba), and Radium (Ra).

• Second most reactive

group on the table (alkali
metals are first)
• They have two electrons in
their outer shell that they
want to give up/share to
have a full shell
 Family: Halogens
• They live in Group 7
• Halo= salt, gen = maker
• Family members:
Fluorine (F), Chlorine (Cl), Bromine (Br), Iodine (I), and
Astatine (At).
• They are all one electron shy of a full
shell.
– They are so close to being happy with full shells, that
they have a tendency to bond with many different
elements to form compounds (typically salts)
– That means that they are reactive
 Family: Noble (Inert) Gases
• They live in Group 8
• Family Members:
– Helium (He), Neon (Ne), Argon (Ar), Krypton (Kr),
Xenon (Xe), and Radon (Rn)
• They are the most stable of all (don’t
react with much) because they have
full shells
– They don’t want to give up or take any more
electrons than they already have
• Glow when given electricity
Rule Breakers: Hydrogen & Helium
• Hydrogen and Helium are
special elements
• Hydrogen can have the
talents and electrons of
two groups: 1 and 7
– It’s seen as having one extra
electron (like group 1) or missing
one (like group 7)
• Helium is different from all
other elements. It only has
two valence electrons, but
is grouped with noble
gases
 Rule Breakers: Transition Metals
• Transition Metals
– They live in the center of the periodic table
– They have special electron rules, which
allows them to bind with more elements