The Periodic

Table
What are Chemical Symbols?

Each of the elements has a chemical

symbol for its name. Some elements
have a chemical symbol with just
one letter, for example H (hydrogen)
and C (carbon).
Other elements have symbols with two
letters. Sometimes the second letter in
the symbol comes from the second letter
in the name such as Be (beryllium) and
other times the second letter in the
symbol comes from another part of the
name such as Mg (magnesium).
Sometimes the letters for the
chemical symbol come from the
elements name in another
language. For example:

Potassium is K (from the latin

kalium)
Sodium is Na (from the latin
natrium)
By the middle of the nineteenth century (1800s),
scientists had discovered approximately 63
elements. Scientists arranged them alphabetically
because there was no system for classifying
elements.
Unfortunately, an alphabetic arrangement of
elements was an awkward way of grouping them
(under this system, aluminum, a metal, would be
grouped with argon, an inert gas—a completely
different kind of element).
Scientists needed a way of classifying elements
so that elements with similar properties would
be placed together. This grouping system would
allow scientists to better predict the properties
of elements and how elements would react with
each other.
Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian
scientist and professor, began
arranging the elements in
rows according to their atomic
mass and started a new row
every time he came to an
element that had similar
characteristics to the first
element in the row.
He noticed that the columns
that formed in this table
contained elements that all
had similar characteristics.
He had discovered a
repetition of the properties of
elements which was called
periodicity.
A Modern Periodic Table
Mendeleev’s periodic table was a significant
advancement in the attempt to classify elements.
Using his table, Mendeleev predicted the properties
of chemicals before they were discovered.
Some flaws, however, occurred in Mendeleev’s
periodic table. As he used increasing atomic mass
to place elements, Mendeleev discovered that
tellurium and iodine were reversed in terms of their
properties. Later, as cobalt and nickel were
discovered, they also showed the same reversal and
later still argon and potassium were found to be
reversed.
Mendeleev would use the
properties of an element as
the primary factor in
positioning the elements in
the periodic table and
overcome the problem. Why
did the problem develop in
the first place?
Henry Moseley, while doing some experiments with
X-rays, discovered that the nucleus of each element
had a unique positive charge. The positive charge
was given the name atomic number. As a result, any
element could be identified by its positive atomic
number.
When elements were
arranged according to their
atomic numbers, the periodic
law was demonstrated and
the difficulty with Mendeleev’s
table disappeared.
As a result, a new periodic
law was established. Today’s
periodic law states that the
properties of elements are a
periodic function of their
atomic numbers.
Design of the Periodic Table

Columns in the Periodic Table

A single column in the periodic table is called a family
or group. A family contains elements that have
similar but not identical properties. The alkali metals,
alkaline-earth metals, chalcogens, halogens, and
noble gases are all examples of families.
Hydrogen is a special case because it is a family
of one. Sometimes hydrogen behaves as a metal
and sometimes as a non-metal. Hydrogen has
one electron in its outermost energy level, so it is
reactive. Almost all the hydrogen on Earth is
combined with other materials or with itself.
Alkali Metals
The alkali metal family occupies the first column
in the periodic table and includes lithium (Li),
sodium (Na), and potassium (K). Each element
has one valence electron in its outer energy
level. These metals are the most reactive metals
in the periodic table because of the single
electron in the outer energy level.
In their natural state, alkali metals
are always found combined with
other substances because of their
reactivity. The most common
element in the family is sodium,
which is found all over Earth in
compounds like salt (sodium
chloride).
Alkaline-Earth Metals
The alkaline-earth metals family is located in the
second column of the periodic table. Alkaline-earth
metals are less reactive than the alkali metal family
because they have two valence electrons in their outer
energy level. These atoms need to lose two electrons
to become stable. Beryllium is the first member of the
family, followed by magnesium, calcium, strontium,
barium, and radium.
Chalcogens
The chalcogen (oxygen) family is located in the
sixteenth column of the periodic table. The chalcogen
family is slightly less reactive than the halogen
family. They have six valence electrons in their outer
energy level (that is, they are two electrons short of
having a completely filled outer energy level). The
first member of the chalcogen family is oxygen,
followed by sulphur, selenium, tellurium, and
Halogens
The halogen (fluorine) family is the
seventeenth family in the periodic table and
includes fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine
(Br), iodine (I), and astatine (At). The
halogens have seven valence electrons,
making them one electron short of filling
their outermost energy level.
The halogens are the most reactive non-metals in
the periodic table. In their natural state they are
found combined with another element. Halogens
such as fluorine and chlorine react with one atom
of hydrogen to form HF and HCL respectively.
Noble Gases
The noble gases (helium) family is the
eighteenth family in the periodic table.
It includes helium (He), neon (Ne),
argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe),
and radon (Ra).
They are called noble gases because
they do not generally form
compounds with other elements.
They are unreactive because their
outer energy levels are completely
filled with electrons. No natural
compounds formed from these gases
exist.
Rows in the Periodic Table
Rows in the periodic table are called periods.
Elements found in the same period do not
demonstrate similar properties as they do in
families. Periods, however, show trends. As you
look from the left side to the right side of the table,
the elements change from metals (Li) to non-
metals (C) and to gases (Ne).