By: Camila Vargas & María Juliana

Periodicity​ (​ definitions & trend analysis) 

  
 
 
Atomic radius: ​ i​ s the radius of a neutral atom.  
● It is defined as the distance from the nucleus to the outermost orbital. It 
increases across the periodic table.  
 
 
Ionic radius: ​ is the radius of an ion   
● It is defined as the distance from the nucleus to the outermost electron.  
● It can be found by dividing the distance between two nuclei of two ions 
according to their sizes.  
“Ionic radius is the distance from the nucleus of an ion up to which it 
has an influence on its electron cloud.” 
https://byjus.com/chemistry/periodic-trends-in-ionic-radii-in-modern-pe
riodic-table/ 
  
Effective nuclear charge:  
It refers to the charge of the valence electrons, which are located on the 
outermost shell.   
 
Shielding effect: ​is defined as the decreasement in attraction between an 
electron and the nucleus in the atom. It can also be seen as the reduction in 
effective nuclear charge.  
 
 
 
Ionization energy(I1): ​Refers to the measure of the “difficulty” in removing an 
electron from an atom or ion, or in other words the tendency of an atom or ion 
to surrender an electron. (​ The amount of energy it takes for all the atoms in a mole 
to lose one electron each). ​It decreases from top to bottom groups and 
increases from left to right across a period in the periodic table.

 
 
 
Electronegativity(χ): ​Is the measure of an atom’s ability to attract shared 
electrons to itself. Concretely, is a measure of the tendency of an atom to attract 
a bonding pair of electrons. I​ ncreases from left to right across a period and 
decreases down a group. 

 
Electron affinity(EA): C
​ orrelates to the energy change that results from adding 
an electron to a gaseous atom. In general terms it’s the amount of energy 
required to add an electron to a gaseous atom to form an anion (units kJ/mol). 
Increases going left to right across a period and decreases going down a 
group 

 
 
Metallic character: I​ s the level of reactivity of each determined metal. Since 
metals tend to lose electrons in chemical reactions their character will indicate 
that within a compound metals will have low attraction for electrons. So, it 
depends on the ability of an element to lose its outer valence electrons and 
describes the set of properties that are associated with the metals in the 
periodic table. D ​ ecreases across a period​(This occurs as atoms more readily accept electrons to fill a valence shell 
than lose them to remove the unfilled shell)​ from left to right and Increases going down an 

element group. 

 
 
Melting point(°C): I​ s basically the energy required to change the state of an 
element from it’s solid state to its liquid state. This essentially means breaking 
few bonds , so higher the stronger bond between the atoms, higher the melting 
point. 
“For Groups 1 and 2, the boiling and melting points d ​ ecrease​ as you move down the 
group. For the transition metals, boiling and melting points mostly ​increase​ as you 
move down the group, but they decrease for the zinc family.” 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Group VII (Halogens) Physical Properties Trends: 
 

 
Group I (Alkali Metals) Physical Properties Trends: 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Introduction and useful points to connote when it comes to H ​ alogens: 
- They decrease in reactivity  
- There is an increase in atomic radius  
- Increases the number of filled electron shells 
- Decreases in power to attract an electron from a negative ion 
(electronegativity, ionization energy) 
- Increase in melting and boiling points (not seen in graphs but still worth 
mentioning) 
- The color of the element gets darker (in real life) 
 
Group I and Group VII trends  
 
The Group VII forms the next to last vertical column on the right of the Periodic Table, 
which is where most non-metallic elements are found. From a working knowledge of 
the position of the Group 7 Halogen elements in the periodic table we should be able to 
predict the number of outer electrons of Group 7 Halogen elements. On the other hand 
Group I corresponds to the Alkali elements, and we can predict based on their position 
on the periodic table their outer number of electrons. Overall, based on the graphs and 
tables we realized how both of these groups follow the exact same trends.  
 
When analyzing the graphs of both these groups, we observe that the A ​ tomic Radii​ has 
a directly proportional relationship with the atomic number as it increases as the atomic 
number of each Halogen increases. This achieves the trend of atomic radius that states 
that it increases down a group since the nucleus will be more far away from the 
outermost orbitals. In the graph of Group VII we have F-9 with 60pm and At-85 with 
148pm to assure the previous explanation. Besides, this can be evidenced in the graph 
of Group I as Li-3 has an atomic radius of 130pm and Fr-87 and atomic radius of 242pm.  
 
Furthermore,the I​ onic Radii ​also follows this directly proportional trend as it also 
increases when the element number increases due to the number of electron shells. 
This can be seen with the elements: Cl-17 181pm and I-53 220pm, on the group 7 and 
Na-11 with 102pm and Cs-55 with pm.  
 
However, ​Ionization energy ​and​ Electronegativity ​have an inversely proportional 
relationship observing that while the atomic number increases they both 
simultaneously decrease. In ionization energy the shielding decreases and the outer 
electrons get further from the nucleus when going down a group, as we can observe in 
the chart “Ionization energy trend ” when F-9 has 1681 whereas I-53 has 1140 and on 
the “Ionization energy trend vs Atomic Number” for Group I, when Li-3 has 520 and 
Fr-87 has 393.  
 
This also happens with electronegativity since down a group there is an increase in the 
distance between the nucleus and the valence electron shell, thereby decreasing the 
attraction, making the atom have less of an attraction for electrons or protons. We 
prove this in the graph “Electronegativity trend” when F-9 has 4.0 and At- 85 has 2.2. 
This works as well for the Alkaline Metals of group 1 as while Li-3 has 1.0, Fr-87 has 0.7.  
 
Finally, it seems that E
​ lectron Affinity ​decreases down the group (in the graph it looks 
as an increase but since it’s negative numbers is really increasing). The reason for this is 
that an electron will not be as attracted to the nucleus, resulting in a low electron 
affinity. Proven in the graph, fluorine has a lower electron affinity than chlorine (F-(-328) 
Cl-(-349). This can be explained by the small size of fluorine, compared to chlorine (Z). 
Accordingly, on the group 1 we can see the electron affinity decreasing Li-3 has an 
electron affinity of -60 and Cs-46.  
 
 
Metallic-Non-Metallic behavior of Group VII  
Usually negative ions are formed directly from the nonmetals just like halogen atoms. 
Since non-metallic elements on the far right-hand side of the periodic table, (which are 
apart from the very noble gases which already have a stable full outer shell), are quite 
readily to gain electrons into their outer shell, giving them a high reactivity in forming 
negative ions which are provided by metals who share electrons. Halogens are also all 
poor conductors of heat and electricity and are usually brittle and crumbly when solid 
(Iodine is a perfect example). 
 
In general metallic character increases down a group since electrons become more 
easier to lose as atomic radius increases. (Distance of nucleus and valence electrons.) 
 
Metals and Nonmetals properties of Group I:  
Group 1 corresponds to the Alkali elements. Based on their position of the periodic 
table we know that they are metals. Their most common physical properties: shiny, soft, 
and silvery. Because of this, they can be easily cut by a knife, and their surface tarnishes 
rapidly through the reaction they have with oxygen, causing oxidation. Additionally they 
are highly reactive at a standard temperature and pressure. They are generally stored in 
oil to prevent any reaction with air due to their high reactivity. Furthermore, they are 
characterised by being ready to lose one electron on their outermost shell, and turn 
into cations with a charge of +1.  
 
 
(Picture and reference information at the end of the document) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
END 
 
 Period 3 graphs 

 
Period 3 Trend(s):  
 

In period 3 the 3s and 3p orbitals are filling with electrons.

In regards to the ​Atomic radius​ from sodium to chlorine, the bonding electrons are
all in the 3-level, screened by the electrons in the first and second levels. The
increasing number of protons in the nucleus across the period attracts the bonding
electrons more strongly, the amount of screening is constant across Period 3. Thus,
we can prove that from left to right across the period the Atomic radius decreases
(since valence electrons are being added to the same energy level at the same time
the nucleus is increasing in protons) in our graph like when we see Na-11(160) and
and Cl-17(100) as the graph exponentially decreases as we go further through the
period.
Now, the ​Ionic Radii ​will as well decrease a period taking into account that metal
cations (as in the period) lose electrons causing the overall radius of an ion to
decrease. Since more protons are added but the outer valence shell remains the
same so the more positively charged nucleus draws in the electrons more tightly.
(however it is possible that in nonmetallic elements the ionic radius increases since
there can be more electrons than protons like ​seen in Chlorine and Sulfur​).
According to our graph ionic radius is much higher in non metallic elements
(exponentially increases) as we can see in between the difference of Cl-181 and
Al-54 (nonmetallic and metallic).
When it comes to ​Ionization energy ​it may seem to not follow a trend accordingly to
the periodic table, however, we observe a general increase across the period.
Across period 3 there are more protons in each nucleus so the nuclear charge in
each element will increase. The force of attraction between the nucleus will increase
as well so more energy will be required to remove outer electrons. We can compare
with our data: Na-496 and Ar-1520 (increase from left to right and potential increase
in the graph, the end is at a high peak)
Moreover, the ​Electronegativity​ trend can be forseen as a continuous and
somehow constant increase as seen in the graph (directly proportional increase) as
we see the first value beign Na-0.9 and last value Cl-3.2. This increase across the
period can be scientifically proven since from left to right the number of charges in
the nucleus increases which attracts the bonding pair of electrons more strongly.

We can se how the ​Electron Affinity ​increases through the period accordingly to its
general trend; the electrons added to energy levels become closer to the nucleus,
thus a stronger attraction between the nucleus and its electrons. The highest
electrom affinity we can analyze in the graph is Chlorine-(-349) (means larger size to
accommodate electrons) in comparison to Na-(-53). Since the graph is negatively
and it includes a lot of negative number we assumed this is eather a continous
increase or decrease.

Finally, when it comes to ​Metallic & non metallic behavior ​we found that Non
Metallic tendency will increase from left to right across a period, which makes
complete sense taking into account that in group 3, at the very left we see metallic
behaviour and elements like Na, Mg, and Al. However, these will preiodically convert
into nonmetals as we advance through the period, like when we see S,Cl, and Ar.
Atoms in the left side are ready to provide electrons for atoms in right side so they
can complete their shells (like MgO). In the Periodic Table the electrical and heat
conductors are on the left and usual insulators on the right. Metallic lustre
characteristics on the left, and dull on the right.

 
 
 
 
 
APA References: 
- Libretexts. (2020, August 21). Group 17: General Properties of Halogens. 
Retrieved September 23, 2020, from 
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Inorganic_Chemistry/Modules_an
d_Websites_(Inorganic_Chemistry)/Descriptive_Chemistry/Elements_Orga
nized_by_Block/2_p-Block_Elements/Group_17:_The_Halogens/0Group_17:
_Physical_Properties_of_the_Halogens/Group_17:_General_Properties_of_
Halogens 
- SE, G. (n.d.). Group 7 Halogens. Retrieved September 23, 2020, from 
http://www.docbrown.info/page03/The_Halogens.htm
- Clark, J. (2005). ATOMIC AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE PERIOD 3
ELEMENTS. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from
https://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/period3/elementsphys.html
- Foundation, C. (n.d.). 12 Foundation. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from
https://www.ck12.org/book/ck-12-chemistry-second-edition/r15/section/9.5/
- Important source that can be useful later:
https://www.angelo.edu/faculty/kboudrea/periodic/physical_metals.htm​ ,
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-chemistry-beta/x2eef969c74e0d80
2:molecular-and-ionic-compound-structure-and-properties/x2eef969c74e0d80
2:types-of-chemical-bonds/v/metallic-bonds
- BBC Bitesize. 2020. Chemical Properties Of The Alkali Metals - Group 1 - The
Alkali Metals - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry (Single Science) Revision -
 Edexcel - BBC Bitesize. [online] Available at:
<​https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z3773k7/revision/2#:~:text=Edexcel-,
Group%201%20%2D%20the%20alkali%20metals,Reactivity%20increases%2
0down%20the%20group​.> [Accessed 26 September 2020].
- Revisionscience.com. 2020. Trends In Group 1 - Chemistry A-Level Revision.
[online] Available at:
<​https://revisionscience.com/a2-level-level-revision/chemistry-level-revision/p
eriodic-table/trends-group-1​> [Accessed 26 September 2020].