Week 2

Electronic configuration is the arrangement of electrons into shells for an atom. This can be
figured out by following some rules:

 Electrons always occupy shells that are closest to the nucleus first
 When a shell becomes full, electrons will fill the next shell

Electronic configuration and position in 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

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

Element Number of electrons Electronic configuration

Hydrogen 1 1
Helium 2 2
Lithium 3 2:1
Beryllium 4 2:2
Boron 5 2:3
Carbon 6 2:4
Nitrogen 7 2:5
Week 2

Oxygen 8 2:6
Fluorine 9 2:7
Neon 10 2:8
Sodium 11 2:8:1
Magnesium 12 2:8:2
Aluminium 13 2:8:3
Silicon 14 2:8:4
Phosphorus 15 2:8:5
Sulphur 16 2:8:6
Chlorine 17 2:8:7
Argon 18 2:8:8
Potassium 19 2:8:8:1
Calcium 20 2:8:8:2

Element notation
The notation of the known chemical elements is prescribed by the International Union of Pure
and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) 1.
Each chemical element has a long name and a symbol. In English the long name is only
capitalized as part of title or sentence case. Chemical element names are not proper nouns and
therefore are otherwise always in lowercase.
Symbols are either one or two letters (e.g. F, Xe, U etc.):

 the initial letter is always capitalized

 if there is a second letter it is always in lowercase

Isotopes
Neutral atoms have the same number of electrons and protons. Atoms of an element that contain
the same number of protons different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes. Isotopes of a
given element have the same atomic number (Z), but different mass numbers (A). The
atomic mass of an element is the weighted average of the masses of the naturally occurring
Week 2

isotopes. The relative masses of atoms are reported using the atomic mass unit (amu), which is
1/12th of the mass of a carbon-12 atom

Relative Atomic Mass (RAM)

This is the weighted average of the masses of the atoms (isotopes) in a naturally occurring
sample of an element. The masses are based off of the atomic mass unit (amu) defined as one
twelfth the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
The symbol for the relative atomic mass is Ar and it is sometimes written as R.A.M.
It is calculated from the mass number and relative abundances of all the isotopes of a particular
element.
Since isotopes have the same atomic number but a different mass number, they are all atoms of
the same element but have different atomic masses.
The relative atomic mass is an average of these masses, hence it is not always a whole number.
The equation used to calculate RAM is

Example
In nature carbon is composed of 98.89% 12C atoms and 1.110% 13C atoms. 12C has a mass of
12.000 amu and 13C has a mass of 13.0034 amu. What is the average atomic mass of carbon?

( 98.89 ×12 ) + ( 1.11 ×13 )

Average atomic mass =
100
1186.68+14.43
¿
100
Week 2

1201.11
¿
100
¿ 12.011

1. Naturally occurring bromine consists of the two isotopes 79Br (50.69%) and 81Br
(49.31%). Calculate the atomic mass of bromine.
2. Magnesium has three isotopes 24Mg (78.70%) 25Mg (10.13%) and 26Mg (11.17%).
Calculate the atomic mass of magnesium
3. Silicon has three isotopes 28Si (92.18%) 29Si (4.71%) and 30Si (3.12%). Calculate the
relative atomic mass
Radioactive isotopes have the same chemical properties as stable isotopes of the same element,
but they emit radiation, which can be detected. They are used in various applications
Tracers - A tracer is a substance that can be used to follow the pathway of that substance
through some structure. Radioactive tracers used in medicine are technetium-99, thallium-201,
iodine-131, and sodium-24
Radiotherapy - Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy radiation to damage the DNA of
cancer cells, which kills them or keeps them from dividing. Cobalt- 60 is used in radiotherapy
Carbon dating- carbon-14, is particularly useful in determining the age of once-living artefacts
Pacemakers - In artificial pacemakers, plutonium-238 is used in the thermoelectric batteries
The periodic table
Dobereiner’s Triads: This classification is based on the atomic mass. According to this, when
elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic masses, groups of three elements, having
similar properties are obtained. The atomic mass of middle element of the triad being nearly
equal to the average of the atomic masses of the other two elements.
E.g. Li (6.9), Na (23), K (39).
Limitation: It failed to arrange all the known elements in the form of triads, even having similar
properties.
Newland’s Law of Octaves: According to this ‘when elements are placed in order of increasing
atomic masses, the physical and chemical properties of every 8th element are a repetition of the
properties of the first element.’
Mendeleev’s Periodic Table: Mendeleev’s periodic table is based on the physical and chemical
properties of elements and their atomic masses. According to Mendeleev’s Periodic Law: “The
physical and chemical properties of the elements are the periodic function of their atomic
masses.”
Week 2

 Mendeleev left vacant places in his table which provided an idea for the discovery of new
elements.

 Mendeleev’s periodic table predicted properties of several undiscovered elements on the

basis of their position in Mendeleev’s periodic table.

In 1913, Henry Moseley showed that the atomic number of an element is a more fundamental
property than its atomic mass. The modern periodic table is based on atomic number of elements;
the physical and chemical properties of elements are the periodic function of their atomic
number.

The modern periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular display of the known chemical
elements in such a way that elements with similar properties occur in the same vertical column or
group. Each element is listed by its atomic number and chemical symbol.
It contains 18 vertical columns known as groups and seven horizontal rows known as periods.
On the periodic table, elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number; each element
has one more proton than the preceding element
The Period number tells you the number of electron shells an atom has: 
o E.g. elements in Period 3 have 3 electron shells.

The Groups are numbered I – VIII

The group number tells you how many outer electrons each atom has:
o E.g. Group 6 elements have atoms with 6 electrons in the outermost shell.

The Periodic Table positions elements based on their properties which are linked to their
electronic configurations.
Elements that are placed in the same group have the same number of electrons in the outer
shell and hence similar chemical properties.

 This allows us to use the table to predict the properties of elements based on their
position.
Week 2

The valency, atomic size, metallic and non-metallic characters, and electronegativity of elements
follow specific trends.
1. Valency is determined by the number of valence electrons in the outermost shell of an
atom.
Valency increases across the period from 1 to 4 then decreases to 0. Elements in the same group
have the same valency because the #valence electrons are the same

2. Atomic radius tells the size of an atom; it is distance between the centre of the nucleus
and the outermost shell of an isolated atom
Across a period, the atomic size decreases as nuclear charge increases. Atomic size increases
down a group as the number of shells increase
3. Metallic character is an atom’s tendency to loses electrons while non-metallic character is
the tendency to gain electrons
Metallic character increases down a group and decreases across a period. Non-metallic character
decreases down a group and increases across a period
4. Chemical reactivity increases down the group for metals; for non-metals chemical
reactivity decreases down the group
5. Electronegativity id the tendency to attract a shared pair of electrons in a covalent
molecule
Electronegativity increases along a period and decreases down a group

Group 2 Alkaline Earth Metals

Week 2

Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), and Barium (Ba).
Alkaline earth metals have the capability to lose the two electrons in their outer shell. Thus, they
react with other elements and form ionic compounds.

Trends
Reactivity increases down the group
The overall trend, for the reactivity of Group 2 metals is an increase down the group. The outer
electrons are easier to remove as they are further from the nucleus and there is more shielding
resulting in a lower nuclear attraction.

Atomic Radii increases down the group

Moving down Group 2 there is an additional shell of electrons for each element. The effect of
this is that the outer electrons are increasingly shielded from the attraction of the nucleus so the
overall nuclear attraction on the outermost electrons is less resulting in an increase in atomic
radius.
Week 2

Ionisation energy decreases down the group/ decreases as atomic number increases
As the atomic radius increases due to the addition of new shells, the outermost electrons move
further away from the nucleus. In addition increase in the magnitude of screening effect of the
electrons in inner shells increases down the Group. Thus the attraction of the outer electrons to
the nucleus decreases (decrease in nuclear attraction). It is therefore becomes increasingly easier
to remove the outer electrons

Reactions
With oxygen
All Group 2 elements tarnish in air to form a coating of the metal oxide. They react violently in
pure oxygen producing a white ionic oxide. When these metals (M) are heated in oxygen they
burn vigorously to produce a white ionic oxide, M2+ O2-

e.g. Ca (s) + O2 (g)  2CaO(s)

With water
The Group 2 elements react with water to form hydroxides with the general formula M(OH)2 and
hydrogen gas. The further you move down the group the more vigorous the reaction with water.
Calcium, strontium and barium react with cold water and the reactivity increases from calcium to
barium. In each case the metal hydroxide and hydrogen are produced.

Ca(s) + H2O(l)  Ca(OH)2 (aq) + H2 (g)

With dilute acid

Magnesium reacts vigorously (and exothermically) with hydrochloric acid to form magnesium
chloride and hydrogen.
Week 2

Mg(s) + 2HCl (aq)  MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)

Summary:

 First ionisation energy decreases down the Group

 Reactivity increases down the Group
 Atomic radii increases down the Group
 Alkalinity increases down the Group
 Solubility increases down the Group
 Electronegativity decreases down the group.

Uses of the Alkaline Earth Metals

 Magnesium - used in fireworks and rescue flares and production of high-performance car
engines.
 Magnesium compounds: Magnesium hydroxide - used some indigestion remedies.
Magnesium oxide -used as a lining inside furnaces.
 Magnesium sulphate – used in Epsom salt, which is a laxative
 Strontium compounds - used in fireworks to produce a crimson red colour.
 Barium compounds - Rat poison has barium carbonate in it; very poisonous.
 Barium meals - barium sulphate is used to take x-rays of the digestive tract,
Week 2

Group 7 Halogens

The halogens 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 e.g. F2

The physical state of the halogens at room temperature

 chlorine is a gas
 bromine is a liquid and
 iodine is a solid

 The halogens become darker down the group.

 Fluorine is yellow, chlorine is pale green, bromine is red-brown and iodine is black.

Melting and Boiling Point

 The melting and boiling points of the halogens increases as you go down the Group.
 This is due to increasing intermolecular forces as the molecules get bigger moving
down the group.
 Hence more energy is required to overcome these forces.

 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.
Week 2

 Any halogens above chlorine will be gases due to low boiling points and those below
iodine will be solid due to high boiling points.

Reactions of halogens

Metal halides
The halogens react with some metals to form ionic compounds which are metal halide salts.
The halide ion carries a -1 charge so the ionic compound formed will have different numbers of
halogen atoms, depending on the valency of the metal.

Sodium is a Group 1 metal: 2Na + Cl2 → 2NaCl

Calcium is a Group 2 metal: Ca + Br2 → CaBr2

The halogens decrease in reactivity moving down the group but they still form halide salts
with some metals including iron.
The rate of reaction is therefore slower for halogens which are further down the group such as
bromine and iodine.

Hydrogen halides
The halogens react with hydrogen to form hydrogen halides. The reactions are less vigorous
down the group due to the decrease in reactivity of the halogens.

Chlorine which is higher up the group forms a hydrogen halide in the presence of sunlight:
CH4 + Cl2 → CH3Cl+ HCl

Bromine requires a higher temperature for a hydrogen bromide to form.

Halogens below bromine would require a much higher temperature to form their respective
hydrogen halides. Those above chlorine would react more vigorously.

Trend in Group VII Activity

The reactivity of Group 7 non-metals increases up the Group.

A halogen displacement reaction occurs when a more reactive halogen displaces a less reactive
halogen from an aqueous solution of its halide.

Chlorine and Bromine

Addition of chlorine solution to colourless potassium bromide solution, the solution becomes
orange as bromine is formed and released into the reaction mixture.
Week 2

Chlorine is above bromine in Group 7 and will therefore displace bromine from an aqueous
solution of metal bromide:

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:

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

Out of the 3 halogens, chlorine, bromine and iodine, chlorine is the most reactive and iodine is
the least reactive.

More reactive Cl → B → I Less reactive

Reactivity and electronic configuration

 In the halogens each outer shell contains seven electrons and when they react, they 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. This means that the
outer electrons are closer to the nucleus so there are stronger electrostatic forces of
attraction and less shielding.
 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.
Week 2