The Periodic Table
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What is the periodic table?
Dmitri Mendeleev created the first modern periodic table.
What does it show and why is it always in the same order?
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What is an element?
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What is the atomic number?
Every element has a unique atomic number (also known as
the proton number). This is the number of protons in the
nucleus of each atom.
electron
What is the atomic number of
this helium atom?
proton
Helium has 2 protons, so its
atomic number is 2.
What links atomic number
and the number of electrons? neutron
Because atoms are neutrally charged, the atomic number
also tells us about the number of electrons in an atom.
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The development of the periodic table
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How are the elements arranged?
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The periodic table
Arranging all the elements by their atomic number and their
properties led to the creation of the periodic table.
H He
Li Be B C N O F Ne
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
Fr Ra Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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Missing elements!
In this periodic table the symbols are replaced by atomic
numbers. Some of the numbers are missing – where?
Two more rows of elements fit here.
1 2
They are called
3 4 the lanthanides 5 6 7 8 9 10
and actinides.
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
55 56 57 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
87 88 89 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118
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The elements in the periodic table
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Columns of elements
What are columns of elements called?
1 2 groups 3 4 5 6 7 0
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Rows of elements
What are rows of elements called?
periods
2
3
4
5
6
7
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Complete the sentences
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Patterns, atomic number and electrons
The periodic table shows that patterns in the properties of
elements are linked to atomic number.
atomic number = number of protons
number of protons = number of electrons
atomic number = number of electrons
Therefore, as atomic number increases by one, the number of
electrons also increases by one.
This means that the elements in the periodic table are also
arranged in order of the number of electrons.
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How are electrons arranged?
Electrons are arranged in shells around an atom’s nucleus.
(The shells can also be called energy levels.)
Each shell has a maximum number of electrons that it is able
to hold. Electrons fill the shells nearest the nucleus first.
2nd shell holds
1st shell holds a maximum of
a maximum of 8 electrons
2 electrons
3rd shell holds
a maximum of
8 electrons
This electron arrangement is written as 2,8,8.
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Electrons in period 1
Elements in period 1 only have electrons in the first shell.
Why are there only two elements in period 1?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0
1 H He
1 2
The first shell can hold a maximum of two electrons,
so period 1 only includes the elements hydrogen and helium.
What is special about the outer shell of helium?
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Electrons in period 2
Elements in period 2 all have a complete first shell.
What happens to electrons in the second shell in period 2?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0
2 Li Be B C N O F Ne
2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8
The second shell is filled across the period from left to right.
What is special about the outer shell of neon?
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Electrons in period 3
Elements in period 3 have complete first and second shells.
What happens to electrons in the third shell in period 3?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0
3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
2,8,1 2,8,2 2,8,3 2,8,4 2,8,5 2,8,6 2,8,7 2,8,8
The third shell is filled across the period from left to right.
What is special about the outer shell of argon?
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Patterns of electron arrangement
Consider the electron arrangements of the first 20 elements
in the periodic table.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0
1 1 2
2 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8
3 2,8,1 2,8,2 2,8,3 2,8,4 2,8,5 2,8,6 2,8,7 2,8,8
4 2,8,8,1 2,8,8,2
What is the pattern of outer shell electrons in a group?
What is the pattern of outer shell electrons across a period?
What is the pattern of full electron shells in a group?
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Electron trends in the periodic table
Trends down a group:
the number of outer shell electrons is the same
the number of complete electron shells increases by one.
The number of a group is the same as the number of
electrons in the outer shell of elements in that
group, except for group 0.
Trends across a period:
the number of outer shell electrons increases by one
the number of complete electron shells stays the same.
The point at which a new period starts is the point
at which electrons begin to fill a new shell.
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Electrons and groups
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Groups and periods
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What’s the electron arrangement?
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Names of groups in the periodic table
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Periodic table and electron structure
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Glossary
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Anagrams
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Multiple-choice quiz
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