8.

5C
Elements are also classified based on shared characteristics. In general,
most metals are located to the left, bottom, and center of the table. Most
non-metallic elements are to the right and to the top. The metalloids are
adjacent to a diagonal line from boron to astatine. Most of the gases are
located to the upper right section of the Periodic Table.
The Periodic Table is divided into nine families. The alkali earth metals
are found in Group 1. They are highly reactive and have one valence
electron. They are malleable, ductile, good thermal and electric
conductors, and are softer than most other metals.
Group 2 elements are alkaline earth metals. All of these elements have
two valence electrons. The transition metals are located in Groups 3-12.
They are ductile, malleable, and good thermal and electric conductors.
Their valence electrons are present in more than one shell and have
several common oxidation states.
The other metals are located in Groups 13-15. All of these metals are
solid and do not exhibit variable oxidation states. Their valence electrons
are only present in their outer shell. The metalloids have properties of
both metals and non-metals and are located along the boundary
separating the metals from the non-metals.
Non-metals, the elements in Groups 14-16, are not good conductors and
can be very brittle. These elements are carbon, nitrogen, oxygen,
phosphorus, sulfur, and selenium. The halogens are in Group 17.
All of the halogens have 7 valence electrons and are highly reactive. The
noble gases are found in Group 18. All noble gases have 8 valence
electrons and are nonreactive.
There are 30 rare earth elements composed of the lanthanide, or
elements 58-71 series, and the actinide, or elements 90-103 series. Most
of the actinides are synthetic and are found in Group 3 of the Periodic
Table and the 6th and 7th periods.