Periodic classififcation of

elements

Different ways to classify

The method of grouping the elements into different classes
is known as the periodic classification of elements.

• Need for classification: The classification is done based on similarities

in properties and the classification gives a systematic study of
elements that helps to understand the properties of elements.
 Advantages of classifying the elements.

• 1.Classification helps us to understand the properties of the elements

and their compounds.
2.Based on their position in the periodic table one can predict the
properties of the elements and their compounds.
3.It is easier to study, compare, and differentiate the properties of the
elements and compounds from different groups.
Dobereiner’s triads- : In 1829,
• A German chemist Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner identified that
elements with similar properties could be grouped together in groups
of three which were referred to as triads. The elements in a particular
triad had similar chemical and physical properties.
• Law of Triads: According to Dobereiner, when elements are arranged
in increasing order of their atomic masses, the arithmetic mean of the
atomic masses of the first and third element in a triad is
approximately equal to the atomic mass of the second element in that
triad. He also proposed that this law was valid for other properties of
elements too. One such property was density.  
Various Dobereiner’s Triads
•
• The first Dobereiner’s triad was discovered in 1817. It is comprised of
alkaline earth metals i.e. calcium, strontium and barium. Later three
more triads were discovered. Let us look at these triads in detail.
There are five of Dobereiner’s triads which are as follows:
• Triad 1: This triad was constituted by the alkali metals lithium, sodium
and potassium.
• Element Atomic Mass
• Lithium 7
• Sodium 23
• Potassium 39
Triad 2: this triad is comprised of alkaline earth metals
i.e. calcium, strontium and barium.

Element Atomic Mass

Calcium 40
Strontium  87.6
Barium 137
• Triad 3: This triad is comprised of halogens, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine.
• Element Atomic Mass
• Chlorine 35.5
• Bromine 80
Iodine 127
• Triad 4: This triad consisted of sulphur, selenium, and tellurium.
• Element Atomic Mass

• Sulphur 32
Selenium 79
• Tellurium 128
• Triad 5: This triad was constituted of Iron, cobalt and nickel.
• Element Atomic Mass
• Iron 55.8
• Cobalt 58.9
• Nickel 58.7
Limitations of Dobereiner’s triads:

• Although Dobereiner’s triads made an attempt to classify the elements

according to their properties into groups of three still had various limitations
which are discussed below:
• Many new elements were discovered in the 18th and 19th century which
made the classification of elements in Dobereiner’s triads difficult and also
impossible in some cases.
• Only 5 Dobereiner’s triads could be identified and new elements could not be
grouped in Dobereiner’s triads.
• There also existed several elements at the time of Dobereiner’s triads
formation that did not fit into Dobereiner’s triads.
• It resulted in disordered element collection.
• Question 1: What is the law of triads?
• According to the law of triads, when elements are arranged in
increasing order of their atomic masses, the arithmetic mean of the
atomic masses of the first and third element in a triad is
approximately equal to the atomic mass of the second element in that
triad.
• Question 2: What do you mean by triad in reference to Dobereiner
triads?
• In reference to Dobereiner’s triads, triad refers to a group of 3
elements. According to Dobereiner, the elements could be made into
groups of three having similar physical and chemical properties.
• Question 3: Which halogens were a part of Dobereiner’s triads?
• Dobereiner triad that consisted of halogens was formed by Chlorine,
Bromine and Iodine.
• Question 4: Verify if Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen with an atomic
mass of 12, 14 and 16 form Dobereiner’s triads.
• o form a Dobereiner triad, the arithmetic mean of the atomic mass of
first and third element must be approximately equal to the atomic
mass of the second element.

• Here arithmetic mean of the atomic mass of Carbon and Oxygen is 14

which is equal to the atomic mass of Nitrogen. Hence they form
Dobereiner’s triad.
Newland’s Law of Octaves- in 1865

• A British chemist named John Newlands attempted to combine the 62

elements known at the time in 1864. He arranged them in ascending
order according to their atomic weights and discovered that the
properties of every eighth element were the same. As a result of this
discovery, Newland’s law of octaves was born.

• The law of octaves states that when the elements are arranged in
ascending order of atomic mass, every eighth element has
comparable properties.
• Newlands contrasted the components’ proximity to musical octaves,
in which every eighth note is comparable to the first. This was the first
time an atomic number was assigned to each element. However, this
method of classifying elements was met with skepticism in the
scientific community. 
Examples of Law of Octaves:

• Sodium is one of lithium’s eight elements. Potassium, lithium, sodium,

and potassium are the chemical properties of the eight sodium
elements.
• Chlorine is the eighth element after fluorine. The chemical properties
of fluorine and chlorine are similar.
• When elements are arranged in increasing atomic mass order,
Newland’s law of octaves states that the properties of the eighth
element are the same as the first.
Advantages of Newland Law of Octaves

• This law establishes a framework for classifying items with

comparable features into groups.
• The statute gave the government extensive authority to organise all
known elements into a tabular format.
• The Newlands law of octave was the first to be based on atomic
weight, linking element properties to atomic masses.
• For the lighter sections, this method performed significantly better.
Lithium, sodium, and potassium, for example, were combined.
Limitations of Newland’s Law of Octaves

• In Newland’s periodic classification, some elements were grouped together.

Nickel and cobalt were both placed in the same slot.
• Element qualities that were distinct were grouped together. Metals such as
cobalt, nickel, and platinum, for example, were classified with halogens.
• Only up to calcium did Newland’s law of octaves hold true. Elements with higher
atomic masses had atomic masses that were too large to fit within octaves.
• The octave layout was unable to accommodate later discovered components. As
a result, new elements could not be discovered using this classification scheme.
Elements that were discovered later could not be incorporated into the octave
pattern. As a result, this method of classifying elements left no room for the
discovery of new elements.
Mendeleev's Periodic Classification-in 1906

• Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, a Russian scientist arranged the

elements in increasing order of their relative atomic masses. He was
honoured with Noble prize in 1906 for his Periodic Table.

• Mendeleev's Periodic Law states that the properties of elements are

the periodic function of their relative atomic masses.
• Mendeleev arranged all 63 elements (which were discovered till his
time) in the order of their increasing relative atomic masses in a
tabular form. It is known as Mendeleev’s Periodic Table. He divided
the table in eight columns and seven rows. The columns are known as
groups and rows are known as periods.
Explanation of Mendeleev's Periodic Table:

• Elements are arranged in the periodic table in the increasing order of their
relative atomic masses.
• Mendeleev divided his periodic table in eight groups and seven periods.
• Groups from I to VII are meant for normal elements and group VIII is for
transition elements.
• Groups from I to VII have been divided in two sub groups, while group VIII
is meant for three elements.
• Periods from 4th to 7th have been divided in two series: 1st series and 2nd
series.
• Elements having similar properties have been kept in the same group. For
example, lithium, potassium, rubidium, etc. are in 1st
Periodic table as published by Errera in 1900
Two general formulae, one for oxides and second for hydrides, have been
given for the elements of each group in the periodic table. For example:
R2O for oxides and RH for hydrides, of the elements; of 1st group.
Merits of Mendeleev's Periodic Table:

• Mendeleev left some blank spaces in his periodic table in order to

place the elements having similar properties in the same group.

• For example, titanium has been placed in IVth group, leaving a blank
space adjacent to it in IIIrd group. Similarly, arsenic has been placed in
Vth group; leaving two adjacent spaces blank. These spaces have
been occupied by scandium, gallium and germanium after their
subsequent discovery.
Prediction for the elements to be discovered in future:

• Mendeleev predicted the discovery of some elements and named

them as eka-boron, eka-aluminium and eka-silicon. He gave the name
of these elements prefixing the word ‘eka’ to the name of the
preceding elements.

• Scandium, Gallium and Germanium have been discovered later and

took the place of eka-carbon, eka-aluminium and eka-silicon,
respectively in the gap left in the Mendeleev’s Periodic table; as their
properties were exactly similar to the predicted elements.
Position of Noble gases which were
discovered later:
• Noble gases were discovered much later after Mendeleev. After the
discovery of noble gas, they were placed in a separate group called
Zero Group, after VIII group, without making any disturbance to the
arrangement of any elements in the Mendeleev’s Periodic Table.
Noble gases are chemically un-reactive and present in very low
concentration in the atmosphere.
Limitation of Mendeleev's Periodic Table

• Position of Hydrogen: Hydrogen has been placed in 1st group with

alkali metals, since hydrogen makes compound in the same way as
alkali metals do.
• On the other hand, hydrogen exists as diatomic molecule; similar to
halogen and hydrogen makes covalent compounds also as halogens
do.
• Thus, on the basis of properties of hydrogen similar to halogen,
hydrogen may be placed with halogens but Mendeleev did not explain
about this anomaly.
Position of Isotopes:
•  Elements having same atomic number but different atomic masses
are known as isotopes. Although isotopes were discovered after
Mendeleev, but it became a challenge to accommodate those
isotopes in Mendeleev’s Periodic Table without disturbing the order
of elements.
Wrong Order of Elements:
• Mendeleev placed many elements in wrong order of their increasing
atomic masses in order to place elements having similar properties in
similar group.
• Example: The atomic mass of nickel is less than that of cobalt, in spite
of that cobalt is placed before nickel. The atomic mass of Chromium is
50.20 and the atomic mass of vanadium is 50.94. In spite of this,
chromium is placed after vanadium.

• In spite of above limitations and anomalies, the Mendeleev's Periodic

Table was one of the wonderful discoveries.
The modern periodic table :
• In 1913 Henry Moseley showed that properties of the elements are
determined by atomic numbers instead of the atomic mass. It formed
the basis of modern periodic law. The law is –
• "The physical and chemical properties of the elements are periodic
function of their atomic numbers".
• Since atomic mass is a nuclear property where as atomic number
implies for the no. of electrons in neutral atom or no. of protons in
nucleus. Nucleus is deep seated in the atoms and does not take part in
chemical reactions. Therefore the physical and chemical properties
depends upon the no. of electrons and their electronic configuration
which in turn depends upon atomic number (Z). So when elements
are arranged in the increasing order of atomic numbers, after an
regular interval elements have similar no. of valence electrons
therefore chemical properties are repeated i.e. periodicity in the
chemical properties of the elements occurs.
• Features of long form of periodic table
• 1. 18 vertical columns known as groups.
• 2. 7 Horizontal rows known as periods.
• 3. Light metals - These are elements of periodic table of group 1 and 2.
• 4. Heavy metals or Transition metals - These are elements of periodic
table of group 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
• 5. Non-Metals These are elements of periodic table of group 13, 14,
15, 16 and 17.
• 6. Zero group These are elements of periodic table of group 18.
• advantages of the modern periodic table are as follows:-
• 1. The table is based on a fundamental property i.e. atomic number of the
elements.
• 2. It correlates the position of the element with its electronic configuration clearly.
• 3. The completion of each period is more logical. Across a period as the atomic
number increases the energy shells are gradually filled up until an inert gas
configuration is reached.
• 4. It is easy to remember and reproduce.
• 5. Each group is an independent group and the idea of sub-groups has been
discarded.
• 6. The position for all isotopes of an element is same since the isotopes have the same
atomic number.
• 7. The position of the eighth group (in Mendeleev‘s table) is also justified in this table. All
transition elements have been brought in the middle as the properties of transition
elements are intermediate between the left and right portions of elements of the periodic
table.
• 8. The table completely separates metals from non-metals. The non-metals are present in
upper right corners of the periodic table.
• 9. The position of certain elements which were earlier misfit (interchanged) in the
Mendeleev’s periodic table are now justified because it is based on atomic number of the
elements.
• 10. Justification has been given for placing lanthanides and actinides at the bottom of the
periodic table.
• Demerits:
• 1.He grouped elements which are not similar like he placed (Na,K,Rb) with the
same group of (Cu, Ag)
• 2. He seperated similar elements like Au and Pt
• 3. He was unable to define the position of hydrogen
• 4. He placed elements in increasing order of mass but placed elements with lighter
mass before element with heavier mass thus violating his own law like Co was
placed before Ni
• 5. When isotopes were discovered, they didn't fit in his table
Long form of the periodic table :

• It is also called as Bohr, Bury & Rang, Werner periodic table

• (1)It is based on the Bohr-Bury electronic configuration concept and
atomic number.
• (2)This model is proposed by Rang and Werner.
• This table is based on modern periodic law, the elements are arranged in
the increasing order of atomic numbers in such a way that elements
having the same number of valence electrons are placed in the same
vertical column.
• It consists of 18 vertical colums and seven horizontal rows. Vertical
columns of periodic lable are known as groups while horizontal rows are
known as periods.
• The co-relation between the groups in long form of periodic table and
in modern form of periodic table are given below :-
• IA IIA IIIB IVB VB VIB VIIB VIII IB IIB
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8,9, 10 11 12
• III A IV A VA VIA VIIA 0
• 13 14 15 16 17 18
• Elements belonging to same group having same number of
electrons in the outer most shell so their properties are similar.
Description of periods :
• Period n Sub shell No. of elements Element Name of Period
• 1. 1 1s 2 1H, 2He Shortest
• 2. 2 2s, 2p 8 3Li – 10Ne Short
• 3. 3 3s, 3p 8 11Na – 18Ar Short
• 4. 4 4s, 3d, 4p 18 19K – 36Kr Long
• 5. 5 5s, 4d, 5p 18 37Rb – 58Xe Long
• 6. 6 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p 32 55Cs – 86Rn Longest
• 7. 7 7s, 5f, 6d, 32 87Fr – 118UuO longest
Variation of Atomic size in a group :
On moving down a group of periodic table, the size of the atom
increases.
When we move from top to bottom in a group a new shell of
electron is added in each period. This addition increases the size.
Gro up-1 Ato mic Radii Smallest atom
Eleme nts (pm)

Atomic size goes on increasing

Li
Lithium (Li) 152

Sodium (Na) 186 Na

Potassium (K) 231 K

Rubidium (Rb) 244 Rb

Cesium (Cs) 262 Cs

Francium (Fr) – Fr
Biggest atom
Atomic Size :- Decreases along the period. Increases down the
group.
• Variation of atomic size in period :
• In general atomic radii decreases across a period from left to right
eg. In IInd period.L atom is largest and Fluorine is the smallest atom
because nuclear charge increases with increase in atomic number.
Electrons are also increasing but these are added to the same shell.

Ele m e nt Li Be B C N O F

A to m ic Nu m b e r 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

N uc le a r c ha rg e +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9

Ee le c tro nic c o nfig ura tio n 2, 1 2, 1 2, 3 2, 4 2, 5 2, 6 2, 7

R a d iu s (pm ) 152 111 88 77 74 66 64

Metallic and Non-metallic character :

• Metallic and Non-metallic character :

• Metallic character is the tendency of atoms of the elements to lose
electrons and form positive ions. It can be expressed as
•M M+ + e–
• Therefore metals are also called as electropositive elements.
• The metallic character increases from top to bottom in a group the
metallic character of the element goes on increasing eg. Li is least
metallic element while caesium is most metallic element.
If we use the term electropositive in place of metallic character, we
can say that electropositive character goes on increasing as we move
from top to bottom in the periodic table. If we consider the
electronegative character, it goes on decreasing as we move down in
a group of the periodic table.

Ele me nts Me tallic charcte r

Metallic or electropositive
Lithium (Li) Least Metallic

character increases
Sodium (Na)

Potassium (K)

Rubidium (Rb)

Cesium (Cs) Most Metallic

• Ionization Enthalpy :
• The minimum amount of energy required to remove the most losely
bounded electron from an isolated gaseous neutral atom to form
gaseous electropositive ion called Ionization enthalpy. Its unit is kilo
joules per mole (kJ/mol)
• M(g) + Energy M+(g) + e–
• It is a measure of tendency to lose electrons by atoms. The tendency
to lose electron increases from top to bottom in a group and it
decreases on moving left to right in a period.
• Electron gain enthalpy :
• It is defined as the amount of energy released when an isolated
gaseous atom in the ground state accepts an electron to form gaseous
negative ion i.e. and anion. It is a measure of tendency of an atom to
accept an extra electron to form an anion. Its unit is kilo joule mole
(kJ/mole). Electron gain enthalpy of elements goes on increasing as
we move from left to right in a period. In group it decreases from top
to bottom.
Atomic Radii

• The atomic radius is the distance between the atomic nucleus and
outermost stable electron orbital of an atom which is at equilibrium.
Across a period the atomic radius decreases, as the nuclear charge
increases. The reason for the decrease is as nuclear charge increases,
the force of attraction between the nucleus and the valence electrons
also increases, and the nucleus holds the electron tightly, thereby
decreasing the atomic radii. 

• Along the Period – Li> Be > B > C > N > O > F

• In a group, the atomic radius increases down the group. The reason
being, new shells are being added and thus the nuclear charge
decreases. But the atomic radii also increase diagonally causing some
exception. 
• Example -Down the Grp – Li < Na < K < Rb < Cs
Electronegativity
• Electronegativity can be defined as the ability of an atom or a
molecule to attract a pair of electrons. The bond formed due to this is
mainly determined by the difference between the electronegativity of
the atoms.
• Example 
• Along the Period- Li < Be < B < C < N < O < F 
 
• Across the period, the electronegativity increases as nuclear charge increases.
Moving down a group, the electronegativity decreases as nuclear charge
decreases. The reason being the distance between the nucleus of the atom and
the valence electrons is long and thus the electrons are easily lost.
• Ex-Down the Grp - Li > Na > K > Rb > Cs

• Exception
• 
• The group 13 elements are an exception and thus the electronegativity increases
from aluminum to thallium. Also, in group 14, the electronegativity of tin is
higher than lead.
Ionic Radius
An ion consists of the electrons in its numerous shells and the nucleus.
The distance between the nucleus and the electron in the last
outermost shell of an ion is known as the ionic radius of an ion.
• Based on the ionic radius of different elements there’s a trend that
can be identified in the periodic table. Basically, this trend can be seen
as;
• If we move from the top of the periodic table down to its bottom the
ionic radius of the elements will increase in value. This happens
because as we move down the periodic table the number of layers or
shells of electrons increase in number.
• If we move sideways from left to right on the periodic table then the
ionic radius tends to decrease in size. Although it seems odd that the
ionic size would decrease as more protons, electrons and neutrons
are added. However, this happens because as we move sideways on
the periodic table the metal shed their outer electrons layers in order
to form cations. For non-metals the ionic radius increases as the
number of electrons present in the ion exceeds the number of
protons causing significant decrease in nuclear charge.
COVELENT RADIUS
• one-half of the distance between the centres of the nuclei of two
similar atoms bonded by a single covalent bond. The covalent radius
of an atom is the radius of an atom under the covalent bond with
another atom(s) of a similar element