Subject: SNC2DE Unit: 3.0: Chemistry Lesson: 3.

03
Topics: Materials: Nelson: Science 10
The Periodic Table Handouts
Homework: Take up 1st 20 elements sheet and homework
A) Intro:
• Last class we looked at atoms, their structure and variations. Today we will look at the periodic table and how it groups
them into logical patterns.

B) Periodic Table:
• Attempts to understand the nature of universe have existed as long as
there has been mankind. Alchemy was a well-known area of study for
people looking in the nature of matter. As our knowledge of elements
grew we began to see patterns forming, and while not the first to begin
to organize the elements, Dmitri Mendeleev is generally credited with
the publication, in 1869, of the first periodic table. It had eight groups
and 12 rows. He was able to predict several elements before they were
discovered based on the patterns he’d observed.
• There are many periodic tables but one is most common (we’ll use that one, i.e. the one in the text book☺)
• On the modern periodic table the elements are arranged in a very
specific manner. The periodic table orders matter into a pattern where trends
may be easily noted between similar behaving materials.
• Vertically, the elements are arranged into groups or families (as they
all have similar behaviours). There are 18 groups, but sometimes they are
represented as 8 groups (ignores the transition metals in columns from Se to
Zn) with groups III through VIII being equivalent to groups 13 to 18.
• Each element in the same group has the same valance electron
configuration.
• Horizontally, the groups are arranged into 7 periods with H and He
in the first period, Li in the second and so on.
• Each element in the same period has the same number of shells
• Of special interest to us are the first 20 elements as well as <<show colour groupings>>:
o Group I – Alkali Metals – Shiny, silvery metals; they form compounds that are mostly white solids that are
very soluble in water and are basic oxides (form bases with water). These elements
are very reactive. See below for transition metals. Note: Hydrogen is not an
Alkali metal!
o Group II – Alkaline Earth Metals – Shiny, silvery metals; they form compounds that are often insoluble in
water. Oxides form bases with water (if soluble). See below for
transition metals.
o Group 17/VII – Halogens – Non-metallic elements that readily react with alkali and alkaline metals. They are
all poisonous.
o Group 18/VIII – Noble Gases – Very stable, non-metallic elements. Note: they can under special
circumstances react to form compounds.
• The other groups (of less interest to us in this course☺) consist of:
o Transition metals – Largest group. Metals including these and the Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metals tend to
be very dense, good conductors of heat and electricity, lustrous, malleable, and ductile.
They are almost always solids at room temperature (exceptions such as mercury, Hg).
o Metalloids – Small grouping of elements that often form amphoteric oxides (react with acids and bases) and
are often semiconductors (conduct in only one direction).
o Non-Metallic elements – Generally form dull, brittle solids, poor conductors of heat and electricity, with
lower densities generally than metals. The can appear in any state at room
temperature. Although far fewer than the metals, non-metals make up most the
earth’s crust and organic tissues almost entirely made up of non-metals.
o <<see extension material>>
• Again we are mostly concerned with the first 20 (i.e. you should be memorizing these☺)
Next page please

Notes:
Homework: C03, Read 5.5
C) Atomic Radius:
• The size of the atom depends on how many shells/orbitals it has and the number of electron/proton pairs it has.
• The elements are arranged horizontally into periods, with each period designating a level or number of orbitals so;
• H and He are in period one each with one orbital (2 electrons maximum)
• Li, Be, B, C, N, O, F and Ne are in the second period and have two orbitals (2 and 8 electrons maximum respectively)
• Atomic radius decreases as you move left to right across the periodic table because as you add more electron/proton
pairs, they attract each other more and more strongly, pulling the orbital closer such that in terms of size:
• Be > C >Ne. In fact Ne is the smallest element in period 2.
• Adding an orbital (going from Ne to Na for example) greatly increases the size of the atom, so even though Li>Ne, Ne
>H etc. and hence atomic radius increases as you move down the periods.
Atomic Radius decreases across a period
Atomic Radius increases down a group
Extensions:

• Currently there are 118 elements, but the possibility of discovering/synthesizing more
exist.
• The two rows outside the table at the bottom (f-block) actually would fit in on the 6th
and 7th period, moving all the group 3 etc to the right.
• Orbitals are more complicated than the simple Bohr shells we study in grade 10.
Quantum orbitals will be studied next year (in chemistry) but a brief out line is included here.
• The periodic table is divided into blocks based on these orbitals:
o s-block - is a block in the periodic table that consists of
the first two groups, namely the alkali metals and the
alkaline earth metals. The elements in the s-block
generally exhibit well-defined trends in their physical
and chemical properties, changing steadily moving
down the groups. Their properties can be most readily
explained in terms of their electron configuration, with
their valence electrons occupying s-orbitals. By this
definition, hydrogen and helium are sometimes also
considered to be part of the s-block.
o p-block - of the periodic table of the elements consists
of the last six groups except helium (which is located in
the s-block). In the elemental form of the p-block
elements, the highest energy electron occupies a p-
orbital. The p-block contains all of the nonmetals (except for hydrogen and helium, which are in the s-block) and
semimetals, as well as the post-transition metals.
o d-block - is the portion of the periodic table that contains the element groups 3–12. These groups correspond to
the filling of the atomic d-orbital subshell of the second outermost shell (inside an outermost shell only
containing 1 or 2 s-orbital electrons) with electron configurations ranging from s2d1 (Group 3) to s2d10 (Group
12).
o f-block - of the periodic table of the elements consists of those elements whose atoms or ions have valence
electrons in f-orbitals. Actual electronic configurations may be slightly different from what is predicted by the
Aufbau principle. The elements are also known as inner transition elements, although that term is normally taken to
include lutetium and lawrencium as well, which are part of the d-block.
o g-block – theoretical, as no current elements have been discovered or synthesized which require g-orbital
electrons. A stable element at 126 is theorized however
• The groups are:

• Quantum Orbitals
o Each orbital in an atom is characterized by a unique set of
values of the three quantum numbers n, ℓ, and m,
which correspond to the electron's energy, angular
momentum, and an angular momentum vector
component, respectively.
o Any orbital can be occupied by a maximum of two
electrons, each with its own spin quantum number.
o The simple names s orbital, p orbital, d orbital and f
orbital refer to orbitals with angular momentum quantum
number ℓ = 0, 1, 2 and 3 respectively. These names,
together with the value of n, are used to describe the
electron configurations.
o They are derived from the characteristics of
their spectroscopic lines: sharp, principal,
diffuse, and fundamental, the rest being
named in alphabetical order (omitting j).
o The orbital shapes and nature derived from
the wave-particle duality that electrons
exhibit:
▪ Wave-like properties:
• The electrons do not
orbit the nucleus in the
sense of a planet orbiting
the sun, but instead exist
as standing waves. The
lowest possible energy an
electron can take is
therefore analogous to the fundamental frequency of a wave on a string. Higher energy states are
then similar to harmonics of the fundamental frequency.
• The electrons are never in a single point location, although the probability of interacting with the
electron at a single point can be found from the wave function of the electron.
▪ Particle-like properties:
• There is always an integer number of electrons orbiting the nucleus.
• Electrons jump between orbitals in a particle-like fashion. For example, if a single photon strikes
the electrons, only a single electron changes states in response to the photon.
• The electrons retain particle like-properties such as: each wave state has the same electrical charge
as the electron particle. Each wave state has a single discrete spin (spin up or spin down).
o Aufbau principle
▪ You may consider an atom as being "built up" from a naked nucleus by gradually adding to it one electron
after another, until all the electrons it will hold have been added. Much as one fills up a container with
liquid from the bottom up, the orbitals of an atom are filled from the lowest energy orbitals to the highest
energy orbitals.
▪ Orbitals with the lowest principal quantum number ( ) have the lowest energy and will fill up first. Within
a shell, there may be several orbitals with the same principal quantum number. In that case, more specific
rules must be applied. For example, the three p orbitals of a given shell all occur at the same energy level.
So, how are they filled up? ans: all the three p orbitals have same energy so while filling the p orbitals we
can fill any one of the Px, Py or Pz first. it is a convention that we chose to fill Px first ,then Py and then
Pz for our simplicity. Hence you can opt for filling these three orbitals from right to left also.
o Hund's Rule
▪ According to Hund's rule, orbitals of the same energy are each filled with one electron before filling any
with a second. Also, these first electrons have the same spin.
▪ This rule is sometimes called the "bus seating rule". As people load onto a bus, each person takes his own
seat, sitting alone. Only after all the seats have been filled will people start doubling up.
o Pauli Exclusion principle
▪ No two electrons can have all four quantum numbers the same. What this translates to in terms of our
picture of orbitals is that each orbital can only hold two electrons, one "spin up" (+½) and one "spin
down" (-½).
1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, 7s, 5f, 6d, 7p, 8s.