Periodic Table

Topic 4
Copyright The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

The Periods in the Periodic Table

1. The modern periodic table is constructed based on the proton
numbers of the elements.
2. The modern periodic law states that the properties of the
elements are a periodic function of their proton number.
3. The horizontal rows are called periods. There are seven
periods in the periodic table.

When the Elements Were Discovered

The Short Periods

1. The short periods consist of period 1, 2 and 3
a. Period 1 -1s orbital is filled. Only two elements, H2 (1s1) and He (1s2).
b. Period 2 In the outermost shell, 2s orbital is filled first, followed by the
2p orbitals. There are eight elements, from Li (1s2 2s1) to Ne (1s2 2s2
2p6).
c. Period 3 In the outer most shell, 3s orbital is filled first, followed by the
3p orbitals. There are eight elements, from Na (1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1) to Ar
(1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6).

The Long Periods

1. The short periods consist of period 4, 5, 6 and 7.

a. Period 4 and 5 consists of 18 elements.
b. Period 6 consists of 32 elements. Series of 15 elements known as
Lanthanides is removed from this period and placed at the bottom.
c. Period 7 consists of 32 elements. Series of 15 elements known as
Actinides is removed from this period and placed at the bottom. The
number of elements in period 7 is slowly increasing due to discovery of
new elements. These new elements are given temporarily names such
as ununbium Uub by the IUPAC.

The Groups in the Periodic Table

1. The vertical columns in the periodic table are called group.
2. In the past these groups are numbered from I to VIII except the
d-block elements. The new system by IUPAC number these
group from 1 to 18. With group 3 to 12 are called d-block
elements.

The Groups in the Periodic Table

3. Elements in the same group have the same number of
electrons in the valence shell and have similar chemical
properties even though their physical properties are different.
4. The first element in each group usually has special properties.
5. There are often significant differences in chemical properties
between the first and the second members of the group.

The s, p, d, f block in the Periodic Table

1. The periodic table is also classified into main blocks based on
orbital types.
a.
b.
c.
d.

S-block outermost electrons in s orbitals

P-block outermost electrons in p orbitals
D-block outermost electrons in d orbitals
F-block outermost electrons in f orbitals

Electron Configurations of Cations and Anions

Of Representative Elements
Na [Ne]3s1

Na+ [Ne]

Ca [Ar]4s2

Ca2+ [Ar]

Al [Ne]3s23p1

Al3+ [Ne]

Atoms gain electrons

so that anion has a
noble-gas outer
electron configuration.

Atoms lose electrons so that

cation has a noble-gas outer
electron configuration.

H 1s1

H- 1s2 or [He]

F 1s22s22p5

F- 1s22s22p6 or [Ne]

O 1s22s22p4

O2- 1s22s22p6 or [Ne]

N 1s22s22p3

N3- 1s22s22p6 or [Ne]

9

-1

-2

-3

+3

+1
+2

Cations and Anions Of Representative Elements

10

Electron Configurations of Cations of Transition Metals

When a cation is formed from an atom of a transition metal,
electrons are always removed first from the ns orbital and
then from the (n 1)d orbitals.

Fe:

[Ar]4s23d6

Fe2+: [Ar]4s03d6 or [Ar]3d6

Mn:

[Ar]4s23d5

Mn2+: [Ar]4s03d5 or [Ar]3d5

Fe3+: [Ar]4s03d5 or [Ar]3d5

11

Example 3.1

12

Exercise 3.1
An atom of a certain element has 15 electrons. Without
consulting a periodic table, answer the following questions:
(a)What is the ground-state electron configuration of the
element?
(b) How should the element be classified?

Exercise 3.1
Strategy
(a) We start writing the electron configuration with principal
quantum number n = 1 and continuing upward until all the
electrons are accounted for.
(b) What are the electron configuration characteristics of
representative elements? transition elements? noble gases?

Exercise 3.1
Solution
(a)We know that for n = 1 we have a 1s orbital (2 electrons); for
n = 2 we have a 2s orbital (2 electrons) and three 2p orbitals (6
electrons); for n = 3 we have a 3s orbital (2 electrons). The
number of electrons left is 15 12 = 3 and these three
electrons are placed in the 3p orbitals. The electron
configuration is 1s22s22p63s23p3.
(b) Because the 3p subshell is not completely filled, this is a
representative element. Based on the information given, we
cannot say whether it is a metal, a nonmetal, or a metalloid.

Quick Check 3.1

Metals, Metalloids and Non-metals in the Periodic Table

1. Elements are classified into three categories: metals,
metalloids and non metals.
2. Metalloids (semi-metals) are elements that have both the
properties of metals and non-metals. They are poor conductors
of electricity, however conductivity may increase as
temperature increases and is affected markedly by impurities.

17

Metals, Metalloids and Non-metals in the Periodic Table

3. In general, the chemical properties of metallic elements
depend on the ability of the atoms to lose one or more
electrons. And their physical properties vary considerably.

4. Acid-base property of the oxide can also be used to classified

elements. Metals form basic oxides, non-metals form acidic
18
oxides and metalloids form amphoteric oxides.

Metals, Metalloids and Non-metals in the Periodic Table

5. Metals like Na, Mg and Al conduct electricity in both solid and
molten states because they have delocalized electrons when
electric potential or voltage is applied.
6. N to F in period 2 and P to Cl in period 3 are non-metals. All
their valence electrons are used to form covalent bond. There
are no free no mobile electrons to conduct electricity, therefore,
they are non-conductors.
7. Ne and Ar are noble gases which have stable octet electronic
configuration. They are also non-conductor of electricity.

19

Electronic Configurations and the Positions of Elements in the Periodic Table

1. The elements in each group have similar chemical properties

because they have similar electronic configurations.
2. All elements in group 1 are metals and the outermost shell of
each elements has one electron. Their general electronic
configuration is ns1

3. Similarly, all element in group 13 have three electrons in their

outermost shell and their general electronic configuration is ns2
np1.

20

4f
5f
21

ns2np6

ns2np5

ns2np4

ns2np3

ns2np2

ns2np1
d10

d5

d1

ns2

ns1

Ground State Electron Configurations of the Elements

Example 3.3 Position in Periodic Table

22

Example 3.4 Position in Periodic Table

23

Example 3.5 Position in Periodic Table

24

Example 3.6 Position in Periodic Table

25

Example 3.7 Position in Periodic Table

26

Quick Check 3.2

Atomic and Ionic Radii

1. The atomic radius is defined as
half the distance between the
nuclei of the two closest and
identical atoms.
3. An atom that contains only a few
electrons is not necessarily smaller
than atom which contains more
electrons.
3. The atomic radius of an element is determined two factors
a. Screening effect of inner shell electrons
i. Effects make atomic radius larger
ii. Due to mutual repulsion between the inner shell electrons and the
outer shell electrons
iii. Filled inner shells shield the outer electrons from the nucleus more
effectively than do electrons in the same subshell
b. Nuclear charge
i. Pulls all the electrons closer to the nucleus. As the charge
increases, the atomic radius decreases

Effective Nuclear Charge

1. The effective nuclear charge, Zeff, for a given electron is given

Z eff = Z S
Where Z=number of protons (actual nuclear charge) and
S=number of electrons in the inner orbitals (screening effects)

Element

Inner

Zeff

Radius
pm

Na

11

10

156

Mg

12

10

136

Al

13

10

125

Si

14

10

117

Variation in atomic radius across periods

1. There is a gradual decrease in
atomic radius across a period
from left to right.
2. When moving from left to right,
the number of proton and
electron increases by one.
3. Electron is added to the same
shell at about the same
distance from the nucleus.
Thus the electrons are
relatively ineffective at
shielding each other and the
screening effect remains
constant.
4. At the same time, more protons are added to the nucleus
which increases the effective nuclear charge for the electrons
in the valence shell.
5. This will cause the valence shell electrons to be drawn closer
to the nucleus and thus decreases the size of the atomic
radius.

Variation in atomic radius across d-block elements

1. Except Sc and Ti,
the atomic radius for
d-block elements are
approximately
constant across the
period.
2. Decreasing atomic
radius with
increasing proton
number does not
apply for d-block
elements.
3. For d-block elements in the same row, additional electrons go
to the inner subshell (3d orbital), the number of electrons in the
outermost subshell (4s orbital) remains constant. The inner 3d
electrons shield the 4s electrons from the nuclear charge more
effectively than the outer electrons shield each other.
4. Thus, increased in nuclear charge (proton numbers) is roughly
cancelled by the screening effect of the 3d electrons.
5. Basically, the outermost electrons experience roughly similar
force of attraction going across the period, thus atomic radius
does not change very much for the first row.

Variation in atomic radius descending a group

1. On descending group, there is an increase in the atomic

radius as the proton number increases. The higher the
principal quantum number n of the valence electron, the larger
the atomic radius.
2. The increase in atomic radius is due to
a. Increase in the number of electron shells
b. Increase in the screening effect of the outer electrons by the inner
electrons as more completed shells are formed

3. The nuclear charge and the screening effect also increases

a. Outer electrons enter new energy level
b. Outer electrons are now screened by more electrons, thus decreases
the effective nuclear charge, therefore atomic radius increases.

Comparison between the atomic radius of an elements and its ionic radius

1. For a given nuclear charge, the smaller number of electrons in

an atom or ion, the smaller the repulsion between the
electrons, and the smaller the atomic or ionic size.
2. The size of cations (+ve) are smaller than their neutral atoms
because they have smaller number of electrons.
3. The size of anions (-ve) are larger than theirs neutral atoms
because they have more electrons.

Example 3.8 Atomic Radius

34

Variation in the radius of isoelectronic species

1. Isoelectronic species are ions or molecules that have the same
number of electrons.
2. For a given number of electrons, the higher the nuclear
charge, the higher the forces of attraction and the smaller the
atomic or ionic radius.
3. Table below shows the atomic or ionic radius of isoelectronic
elements with the same electronic configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6.

Example 3.9 Atomic Radius

36

Variation in ionic radius across Periods 2 and 3

1. For Period 2 elements
a. The radii of +ve ions
decrease from Li+ to
Be3+
b. The radii increase
from Be3+ to N3c. The radii of ve ions
decrease from N3- to
F2. For Period 3 elements
a. The radii of +ve ions decrease from Na+ to Al3+
b. The radii increase from Al3+ to P3c. The radii of ve ions decrease from P3- to Cl3. The higher nuclear charge pulls the electron cloud closer to the
nucleus, causing the ionic radius to decrease.
4. The presence of additional electron shell increases the ionic
radii due to increase in screening effect.
5. For a given nuclear charge, the larger the number of electrons
in an atom or ion, the greater the repulsion between electrons,
and the larger the atomic or ionic radius.

Variation in ionic radius Descending a group

1. For ions of the same charge, the ionic size increases as we
descend a group because
a. the number of energy levels increases
b. the valence electrons are farther from the nucleus
c. the valence electrons become more effectively shielded
from the nucleus by the increasing number of electrons
2. Both factors, increasing distance from the nucleus and the
shielding effect, outweigh the effect of increasing nuclear
charge. As a result, the effective nuclear charge for the
electrons in the valence shell decrease.

The first and Second Ionization Energies

1. The first ionization energy is the minimum energy required to
remove one mole of electrons from 1 mole of atoms in the
gaseous state. The H1 is
+

M (g) M (g) + e

2. The second first ionization energy is the minimum energy

required to remove one mole of electrons from 1 mole of unipositive ions in the gaseous state. The H2 is

M + (g) M 2+ (g) + e
3. The first and second ionization energies of iron are +762 kJ/
mol and 1560 kJ/mol.

Fe(g) Fe+ (g) + e

Fe+ (g) Fe 2+ (g) + e

4. The third and subsequent ionization energies can be defined

using the same method.
5. The lower the ionization energy of an element, the more easily
its electron can be removed. As the ionization energies
decrease, the metals become more metallic.

Factors that affect Ionization Energies

1. The level of difficulty in removing electron from the atom or
from the ion depends on the strength of the attractive forces
between the electron and the nucleus.
2. Hence, the ionization energy is influenced by
a. Distance of the outer electron from the nucleus
b. Size of the nuclear charge
c. Screening effect of the electrons in the inner shells

3. Atomic radius

a. The attraction of the positive nucleus for the negatively charge electron
decreases as the distance increases and this causes ionization energy
decreases. Therefore, the ionization energy decreases as the atomic
radius increases.

4. Nuclear charge

a. When nuclear charge becomes more positive, its attraction on the outer
shell electrons increases. This causes the ionization energy increases.
b. Mg1 (1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2) has a nuclear charge of +12, and Na (1s2 2s2 2p6
3s ) has a nuclear charge of +11. Both have the same number of
electron in the inner shell, Mg has higher effective nuclear charge.
Then the ionization energy of Mg is higher than Na.

5. Screening effect

Factors that affect Ionization Energies

5. Screening effect
a. The valence electrons are shielded from the attraction of the nucleus by
the screening effect (effect of repulsion) of the electrons in the inner
shells.
b. The screening effect by the inner electrons is more effective if these
electrons are closer to the nucleus. Because of this
i. Electron in the lower principle quantum number have a stronger
shielding effect compared with electrons in shell of higher principle
quantum number.
ii. Electrons in the same shell exert a very small screening effect on
each other.

6. Ionization energies always increase because

7. In the case of Al (1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p1), there is a large increase
between the first and the second ionization energies because
the electron in removed not only from a positive ions Al+, but
also from a filled 3s orbital which is more stable.
8. The fourth ionization energy of Al is very high because to
remove the fourth electron requires breaking into inner shell
which has stable noble gas electronic configuration (1s2 2s2
2p6).

Variation in first ionization energy across a Period

1. With minor exceptions, when
moving across a period from
left to right, the ionization
energy increases and the
elements become less
metallic and more non
metallic.
2. When moving across a
period from left to right, the
nuclear charge increase, the
atomic radius decreases, but
the screening effect remains
almost constant.
3. When the effective nuclear charge increases, and the
outermost shell electrons are more tightly held by the nucleus,
the ionization energy increases.

Variation in first ionization energy involving anomalous behavior between group

2 and 13

1. Between Be and B, B has

smaller atomic radius,
therefore we would expect
that the ionization energy of
B would be higher than Be.
2. The ionization energy of B is
lower than Be because Be
(1s2 2s2) loses a 2s electron
where as B (1s2 2s2 2p1)
loses a 2p electron.
3. More energy is required to
remove an electron from the
lower energy 2s orbital than
from the 2p orbital.
4. The electrons in the filled 2s orbital are more effective at
shielding the electron in the 2p orbital than they are at
shielding each other. Thus, the single electron in the 2p
subshell are better shielded than the 2s2 electrons. Therefore,
less energy is needed to remove a single 2p electron than a
paired of 2s electron.
5. The same apply between Mg and Al.

Variation in first ionization energy involving anomalous behavior between group

15 and 16

1. The first ionization energy of

O (1s2 2s2 2px2 2py1 2pz1) is
lower than N (1s2 2s2 2px1
2py1 2pz1) , even though both
has same energy level of 2p
orbital electrons, because N
has a half filled electronic
configuration which is more
stable.
2. Moreover, O has two
electrons in the same 2px
orbital which result in greater
repulsion effects, and this
make it easier to remove the
electron.
3. Therefore, the decrease in the first ionization energy on going
from N to O is due to the repulsion of paired electrons in the
2p4 configuration of the O atoms.
4. The same apply between P and S.

Variation in first ionization energy on descending a group

1. On descending a group, the atomic radius increases as more

electrons are added to successive energy levels and this
causes the screening effect to increase.
2. The further the outermost electron is from the nucleus, the
smaller is the attraction force between the nucleus and the
electron, and the more easily the electron can be removed.

Example 3.10

46

Successive ionization energy, electronic configuration and the position of an

element in the Periodic Table

1. Successive ionization
increase because the
positive charge on the ion
produced increases as the
each electron is removed,
making successive electrons
increasingly difficult to
remove.
2. The study of successive
ionization energies of
2 2s2 2p6 3s1
1s
elements proves the
existence of energy levels in
an atom.
3. Consider the log plot of successive ionization energy of Na.
There is relatively large increase in ionization energy when the
second and the tenth electron is removed. This suggests that
the nucleus of the Na atom is surrounded by electrons which
are group into three energy levels, called shells.
4. The plot also suggests that the 2nd electron and the 10th is
nearer to the nucleus than the 1st and the 9th electron.

Example 3.11

48

Electronegativity
1. The electronegativity of an atom is the ability or power of the
atom in a covalent bond to attract pairs of shared electrons to
itself.
2. The electronegativity is measured using Paulings scale and
value 4 is the highest electronegativity.
3. Consider the covalent molecule HCl
a. Cl is more electronegative than H
b. Cl attract shared electrons away from H to itself
c. The H atom in the HCL acquires a partial +ve charge and the Cl atom
acquires a partial ve charge The HCL molecule is represented as H+ Cl-

4. The greater the electronegativity of an atom, the greater its

ability to attract electron to itself.
5. The electronegativity of an atom is different from its electron
affinity. Electronegativity measures the ability of an atom in a
molecule to attract pairs of shared electrons, whereas electron
affinity measures the ability of a single gaseous atom to gain
49
an electron to form a negative ion.

Electronegativity
6. The electronegativity of an element is related to its electron
affinity and its ionization energy. A highly electronegative atom
will have a
a. Very negative first electron affinity
b. High ionization energy

Because it will attract electrons from other atoms but resist

having its electrons pulled away.

50

Variation in electronegativity across a period and descending a group

1. Electronegativity increases across a period from left to right,

that is from metallic to non metallic.
2. Electronegativity decreases down a group.
3. However, there are some exception
4. The electronegativity of H to Ca above shows that the electro
negativities and ionization energy variations has the same
trend because both values depend on nuclear charge and the
atomic radius.
51

The periodicity of the physical properties of elements across

period 3 and down group 1 and 17
1. The more an element exhibits physical properties of metals,
the greater is its metallic character. In general, the metallic
character
a. Decrease across a period
b. Increase down a group

2. The metallic character of elements can be compared in terms

of first ionization energies
a. The first ionization energy increases across a period and decreases
down a group
b. Metals (group 1) have low ionization energies
c. Non metals (group 17) have high ionization energy

52

The periodicity of the physical properties of elements across

period 3 and down group 1 and 17
3. On descending a
group, the metallic
character increases
and the first ionization
energy decreases. On
descending, group 1
reactivity with O2 and
H2O increases. The
more reactive a metal,
the greater the metallic
character.
4. For group 17, on
descending a group,
the non metallic
character decreases
and the metallic
character increases.
5. The trend of increasing
metallic character is
clearer for group 14
53
and 15.

Variation in melting point and boiling point across period 3

1. For period 3, the melting and boiling point

a. Increase from Na metal to the giant molecular Si, and then
b. Decrease sharply from Si to the simple non metallic molecule P

is caused by the changes in the structure and bonding of the

elements across the period.

54

Metallic Bond
1. In the metallic structure, each
positively charged metal ion is
attracted to a cloud of negative
electron which is responsible for
the bonding in metals.
2. The melting point of Al (1s2 2s2 2p6
3s2 3p1) is only slightly higher than
Mg (1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2), implying,
that Al atom does not use all the
three valence electrons for metallic
bonding.

3. The boiling points of metals are very much higher than their
melting point
a. This implies that most of the metallic bonds still exist in the
liquid state
b. However, when the liquid changes into vapor, the atoms
must be separated to a considerable distance and this
55
involves breaking all the metallic bonds.

Giant Covalent and Simple Molecular Structure

1. Si has very high melting and boiling point
because it has strong covalent bond in the
giant crystal lattice.
2. Nearly all the bonds must be broken before
the solid melts. As a result, the boiling points
are not very much higher than their melting
points.
3. All the non metallic elements (P4, S8 and Cl2) in period 3 form
simple molecular structure and consists of small and discrete
molecules.
4. The covalent bonds within the molecule are very strong but the
Van der Waals forces of attraction between the molecules are
very weak, thus the relatively low melting point.
5. The Van der Waals forces of attraction increases as the
molecular size increases, that is as the relative molecular
mass increases.
6. The boiling of elements with simple molecular structures only
involves overcoming the weak Van der Waals forces. This
explain why the boiling takes place at low temperature and not
56
that much higher than the melting point.

Variation in melting and boiling point descending a group

1. Group 1 (alkali metals)
have low melting and
boiling points compared to
other metals such as Fe.
2. Descending a group, the
melting and boiling point
decrease because the
attractive forces between
the atoms becomes
weaker as the atomic
radius becomes larger.
3. Group 17 (halogen) consists of small molecules. The forces of
attractions are weak and so halogens have low melting and
boiling points.
4. Descending a group, the melting and boiling points increases.
This is because as the molecules get larger, the Van der Waals
forces between the neighboring molecules increase.
5. Hence, Fl2 and Cl2 are gases, Br2 is a liquid and I2 is a solid at
room temperature.
57

The acid-base character of the oxides of period 3 elements

1. Metals form basic oxides whereas non metals form acidic

oxides.
2. Metal oxides are ionic compound, whereas non metal oxides
are molecular covalent compound.
3. Si is metalloid. Its oxide SiO2 is a giant covalent molecule.
4. Across period 3, the metallic character decreases as the
ionization energy increases. As a result, the metal oxides
become more acidic.

58

Basic Oxides and Acidic Oxides

1. Metal oxides react with acids to form salt and water only and
are called basic oxides and they are ionic solids with high
melting and boiling points.

Na2O ( s ) + 2HCl ( aq ) 2NaCl ( aq ) + H 2O (l )

2. Na2O in an alkali because it dissolves readily in water to form

alkaline solution.

Na2O ( s ) + H 2O (l ) 2NaOH ( aq )
3. Non metals burn in O2 to form acidic oxides. Acidic oxides are
simple covalent molecules which exist as gases or solids
(P4O10) with low melting points.
4. Acidic oxides dissolve in water to form acids.

P4O10 ( s ) + 6H 2O (l ) 4H 3 PO4 ( aq )

5. SiO2 is an acidic oxide. It is insoluble in water but dissolves in

hot concentrated NaOH to form salt and water.

SiO2 ( s ) + 2NaOH ( aq ) Na2 SiO3 ( aq ) + H 2O (59l )

Amphoteric Oxides
1. Amphoteric oxides acts as both acidic and basic oxides
depending on the conditions. They behave as acids when they
react with bases and behave as bases when they react with
acids.
2. For example, Al2O3 reacts with HCl to form AlCl3

Al2O3 ( s ) + 6HCl ( aq ) 2AlCl3 ( aq ) + 3H 2O (l )

3. Al2O3 dissolve in NaOH solution to form NaAlO2

3Al2O3 ( s ) + 6NaOH ( aq ) 2NaAlO2 ( aq ) + 3H 2O (l )

60

Quick Check 3.4