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Explanation of the Periodic Table of the Elements - Succeed in Chemistry. Also refer to physical science, compounds, isotopes, molecules, atoms, protons, electrons, neutrons, nucleus, orbits, shells, ions, noble gas, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions Periodic Table of the Elementsby Ron Kurtus (16 April 2007) The periodic table is an arrangement of the chemical elements that is a powerful tool for studying those elements and how they combine. The elements are arranged in rows according to their atomic number and in columns according to their valence electrons or number of electrons in the outer shell. Elements in a given column have similar chemical characteristics. A detailed periodic table typically gives information on the name, symbol, atomic number, atomic weight, shell configuration and other material. Questions you may have include:
This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson. Arrangement of elementsThe elements in the periodic table are arranged in rows according to atomic number and in columns according to the configuration of the outer orbit or shell. Partial periodic tableThe chart below just shows the first 18 elements, so you can get an idea of how the periodic table arranges them. Since there are over 100 elements, the table is more complex than this. The elements are listed by their abbreviations. H = Hydrogen, He = Helium, and so on.
First three rows of Periodic Table Rows and columnsBy examining the rows and columns of the periodic table, you can see how useful it can be. RowsIf you go along the rows from left to right, the elements are numbered 1 - H, 2 - He, 3 - Li, 4 - Be, 5 - B, and so on. The atomic number is also the number of protons in the element's nucleus. The first row lists just H and He, since they only have one electron shell or orbit. The second row lists elements that have electrons in two shells. Lithium (Li) has one electron in shell 2, while Neon (Ne) has a full shell of 8 electrons. Elements in the third row not only have two electrons in the first shell and eight in the second shell, but they also have electrons in a third shell. Silicon (Si) has four electrons in its outer orbit or shell. ColumnsIf you go down a column, each element has the same number of electrons in its outer orbit or shell. For example, H, Li, and Na each has one electron in the outer shell. On the other hand, O, S, and those elements below each has 6 electrons in the outer shell or 2 short of filling the outer shell with 8 electrons. The number of electrons in the outer shell determines the element's chemical properties. There is a maximum number of electrons allowed in each shell. Only 2 can be in the first shell, 8 in the second, 18 in the third, 32 in the fourth, and so on. (See The Atom in the Physical Science section for a detailed explanation of the orbits or shells.) After the half-way point, the columns indicate how many less than full are in the outer orbit or shell. The maximum electrons in the second orbit is 8. Thus Oxygen (O) has 2 electrons less than the maximum of 8 in its outer orbit. Interactive periodic tableA complete periodic table of the elements is illustrated below. This version of the table is interactive, allowing you to get more information on the various elements. Information on using it is listed below the table. (Note: To find the name of the element for a given symbol, see the lesson on Chemical Elements.) Using the tableWhen you click on any underlined abbreviation for an element, detailed information is displayed in the lower table.
So, you can get quite a bit of information from this table. State at room temperatureThe table also color-coded each element as to whether it is solid, liquid or gas at room temperature. Man-made elements are usually made in such small quantities and are so short-lived that it is difficult to tell what form they exist in. By their placement in the table, they are probably solids. SummaryYou can use this Periodic Table to obtain considerable information about the elements and their relationship to each other, as well as possible chemical combinations. You have the potential to be great ResourcesThe following resources provide information on this subject: WebsitesChemical Elements.com - Site with details on Periodic Table
BooksMiscellaneousMini-quiz to check your understanding1. How many elements are there in a standard periodic table? 2. How many electrons does Sodium have in its outer shell? 3. How many shells does Gold (Au) have? If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a Champion in Chemistry. If you had problems, you had better look over the material again. What do you think?Do you have any questions, comments, or opinions on this subject? If so, send an email with your feedback. We will try to get back to you as soon as possible. Share linkFeel free to establish a link from your website to pages in this site. Or use our form to send this link to yourself or a friend. Students and researchersThe Web address of this page is Also, tell a friend about this material. Where can you go from here? |
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