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7: Periodic Properties of the Elements

  • Page ID
    91197
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    Last chapter, we presented the contemporary quantum mechanical model of the atom. In using this model to describe the electronic structures of the elements in order of increasing atomic number, we saw that periodic similarities in electron configuration correlate with periodic similarities in properties, which is the basis for the structure of the periodic table. For example, the noble gases have what is often called filled or closed-shell valence electron configurations. These closed shells are actually filled s and p subshells with a total of eight electrons, which are called octets; helium is an exception, with a closed 1s shell that has only two electrons. Because of their filled valence shells, the noble gases are generally unreactive. In contrast, the alkali metals have a single valence electron outside a closed shell and readily lose this electron to elements that require electrons to achieve an octet, such as the halogens. Thus because of their periodic similarities in electron configuration, atoms in the same column of the periodic table tend to form compounds with the same oxidation states and stoichiometries. Last chapter ended with the observation that, because all the elements in a column have the same valence electron configuration, the periodic table can be used to find the electron configuration of most of the elements at a glance.

    In this chapter, we explore the relationship between the electron configurations of the elements, as reflected in their arrangement in the periodic table, and their physical and chemical properties. In particular, we focus on the similarities between elements in the same column and on the trends in properties that are observed across horizontal rows or down vertical columns. By the end of this chapter, your understanding of these trends and relationships will provide you with clues as to why argon is used in incandescent light bulbs, why coal and wood burst into flames when they come in contact with pure F2, why aluminum was discovered so late despite being the third most abundant element in Earth’s crust, and why lithium is commonly used in batteries. We begin by expanding on the brief discussion of the history of the periodic table and describing how it was created many years before electrons had even been discovered, much less discussed in terms of shells, subshells, orbitals, and electron spin.


    7: Periodic Properties of the Elements is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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