Modern Periodic Table of Elements

The arrangement of elements in the periodic table follows a

certain rule known as the periodic law, which is:

“Properties of elements are a periodic function of their atomic

number”

The periodic table of elements has been arranged in increasing

order of their atomic numbers. There are 118 elements in total,
spread out on the periodic table. Now, this matrix divides itself
into rows and columns.

Periods

 Horizontal rows of the periodic table of elements are the

periods.
 There are seven such periods in the table, each numbered
from 1 to 7.
 All the elements in the period have the same number of
shells. The number of electrons in this last shell increase by
one across any given period
 The first period is the shortest having only two elements,
namely Hydrogen and Helium. The next two rows or periods,
that is the second and the third, are known as short periods.
They both contain eight elements each. The next two periods
have 18 elements each. And finally, the last (sixth) period is
the very long period and has 32 elements.
Groups

 The vertical columns of the periodic chart are what we call

Groups.
 There are 18 groups in the periodic table.
 Elements belonging to a particular group make a family and
are generally named after the first element in that particular
group
 If you notice the electronic configuration of all elements in
one group you will see they all have the same number of
valence electrons. Take Chlorine and Fluorine for example.
Both belong to group 17 and both have seven valence
electrons.
 As you go down the group the valence electrons remain
same but the number of shell increase.
 On the extreme left of the table is Group 1 which consists
of alkali metals (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr). They are highly
reactive metals that form strong alkaline hydroxides.
 The last group is occupied by noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe,
Rn). These are highly nonreactive. The eighteenth group they
occupy is also called Group 0.

Inner Transition Elements

 These are Lanthanides and Actinides.

 Lanthanides are rare earth metals. They are fifteen in
number and found deep in the earth’s crust.
 These elements are placed below the periodic table of
elements and are called the 4f series.
 Actinides are all radioactive elements. Some of them are not
found in nature but are man-made.

Inert gas:
1. The noble gases are the chemical elements in group 18 of
the periodic table.
2. This chemical series contains helium, neon, argon, krypton,
xenon, and radon.
3.It appears that these elements having s2p6 electronic
arrangement and in the outermost level are very stable.
4. They are the most stable due to having the maximum
number of valence electrons their outer shell can hold.
The representative elements:

 S-lock and P-block elements come under the category of

representative elements.
 Elements in groups 1 and 2 are known as the s – block
elements with 1s2 and 2s2 outermost configuration.
 Group 13-17 are known as the p-block elements with
outermost configuration varies from ns2np1 to ns2np5.
 Transition Elements:

Transition elements (also known as transition metals) are

elements that have partially filled d orbitals.

IUPAC defines transition elements as an element having a d

subshell that is partially filled with electrons, or an element
that has the ability to form stable cations with an
incompletely filled d orbital.

The properties of transitional elements:

 These elements form colored compounds and ions. This

color is explained by the d-d transition of electrons.
 There is a relatively low gap in energy between the
possible oxidation states of these elements. The transition
elements, therefore, exhibit many oxidation states.
 Many paramagnetic compounds are formed by these
elements, because of the unpaired electrons in the d
orbital.
 A large variety of ligands can bind themselves to these
elements. Due to this, a wide variety of stable complexes
are formed by transition elements.
 These elements have a large ratio of charge to the radius.
 Transition metals tend to be hard and they have relatively
high densities when compared to other elements.
 The boiling points and the melting points of these
elements are high, due to the participation of the
delocalized d electrons in metallic bonding.
  This metallic bonding of the delocalized d electrons also
causes the transition elements to be good conductors of
electricity.
 Inner Transition Elements:

The elements constituting the f-block are those in which 4f and

5f orbitals are progressively filled. These elements are formal
members of group 3 but are shown separately as f-block of the
periodic table. The elements of f-block are also called inner
transition elements.

Main Characteristics of Inner Transition Elements

1. In the inner transition elements the third last shell is filled

with electrons.
2. The inner transition elements form colored ions.
3. The inner transition elements show variable valencies.
4. Actinides are radioactive by nature.
5. The inner transition elements beyond atomic number 92
up to 103 are synthetic as well as radioactive. They are not
found in nature in the earth’s crust.