SANKALP FOUNDATION

Q. Why Sub-groups A & B are used in the periodic table?

A:There are two commonly used formats of the periodic table. In one of them groups are
numbered 1 through 18.

Here you can easily distinguish transition metals from main group metals and nonmetals.
Another advantage of this format is that it follows the Aufbau prinzip - the way the electron
shells are filled with electrons by energy. Say, for period 2, in group 1 there is one s electron, in 2
there are two s electrons, then you jump to group 13 where Boron has one p electron in addition
to the two s electrons. In groups 14 - 18 the rest of the p electrons are added.
Then, moving on to element with atomic number 20, Calcium. Its electron configuration is

1s22s22p63s23p64s2. The next subshell that will be filled after 4s is 3d. That's why Scandium,
number 21, belongs to group 3 of the periodic table. The so-called d block is in between the
elements which have lower-energy valence subshells (the s subshell) and those with higherenergy valence subshells (the p subshell).
The same logic is applied to f elements. However, the period table would become too wide to
look at it comfortably, that's why Actinides and Lantanides, the elements where f subshells are
being filled, are given as two extra rows underneath the other elements.
In the short version of the periodic table, there are eight groups, in each of which there are two
subgroups, A and B. Lanthanides and Actinides, again, are put below the rest of the elements.
The group where an element is placed in depends on the number of valence electrons for each
element. In group A, alkali metals have one valence electron. Silver can react with its 5s electron.
The 4d shell remains intact. That's where the resemblance comes from.
So, why is it necessary at all to separate elements in two subgroups? Well, elements are arranged
in order of increasing atomic number. It turned out that in period 4 the ninth element, Copper, is

SANKALP FOUNDATION
supposed to go to group 1. Good. But the trend in chemical properties within group 1 would be
broken. Lithium is less reactive than Sodium, which, in turn, is less reactive than Potassium. And
then, comes Copper. It is nowhere near as reactive as either of the alkali metals. That's how
reactivity determined the presence of two subgroups within each group.

NOTE:
B and A indicate if the new electron goes into the penultimate shell or
otherwise.