Chemistry

Grade 9

Complet note based on “Properties of

periodic table across a period and
down a group”

Prepared by: S.Yehulashet

For S.Dawit
Properties of periodic table across a period
and down a group

First:
Energy Level
In the Bohr model of the atom, electrons circle the
nucleus in the same way that planets
orbit the sun.

Negative electrons are attracted to the positive

nucleus.
Consequently, it takes energy to move an electron
away Prom the nucleus to an outer
circle.
Thus, the circles where the electrons orbit are
referred to as energy levels or shells. Electrons in
the outermost circles have higher energy since it
requires more effort to pull the electron a greater
distance from the nucleus.
The energy levels are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. The
smaller the number, the closer the energy level is to
the nucleus. The letter "n" is used to represent the
energy level. The energy level that is closest to the
nucleus has a value of n = 1. Sometimes instead of
using numbers, we use the letter k, L, M, etc. to
represent the numbers 1, 2, 3, and so on.

The value o£ n is sometimes called the principle

quantum number(energy level).

Each energy level can only hold a certain number

of electrons. The first energy level can only hold 2
electrons, the second can only hold 8, and the third
can only hold 18.

As the energy level increases, so does the number

of electrons that can fit into the shell. We can use a
formula to predict the maximum number o£
electrons that can Pit into an energy level.

Max * of electrons = 2n2 .

For example, the maximum number of electrons

that can occupy the 4th energy level is 2*42 = 32
electrons.
Sublevel
Within each energy level are sublevels. The
sublevels are labeled s, p, d, and f. You need to
memorize these 4 sublevels.
The first energy level has an s sublevel.
The second energy level has s and p sublevels.
The third energy level has s, p, and d sublevels.
The forth energy level has s, p, d, and f sublevels.
if two electrons occupy an orbital, the must spin in
opposite directions. This rule is called the Pauli
Exclusion Principle. We will be using arrows to
symbolize spinning electrons.
General Summary
Electrons orbit the nucleus in circles called energy
levels (n).

Inside the energy levels are sublevels (s, p, d, -P").

Inside the sublevels are orbitals.

Now come to the topic:Properties of periodic

table across a period and down a
group

1. Atomic size
Atomic radius is the distance of the outer electrons
from the nucleus.
Electrons, which have a negative charge, are
attracted to the positively charged nucleus.
if the positive charge in the nucleus increases, the
electrons will be pulled closer, and the radius will
decrease.

On the periodic chart, radius decreases from left to

right
because positive charge in the nucleus increases.
What happens to the radius when we go down a
column?
The next set of pictures shows the radius of the
atoms in group lA of the periodic, chart. We'll start
at the top with hydrogen, then go down with
lithium and then sodium.
As we go down a column, the number of inner
energy shells between the outer electrons and the
nucleus increases.
These shells shield the outer electrons from the
nucleus.
Consequently, they are held less tightly, resulting
in a larger radius.
Thus, radii increase going down a column due to
shielding.
The overall trend of radius size across the periodic
chart is-
• Left to right, radius decreases
• Top to bottom, radius increases
If you go diagonally from the bottom left of the
chart to the upper right, you'll go from the largest
radius to the smallest radius.
Now suppose a lithium atom loses an electron.
What happens to the atomic radius?
2. Ionization energy
The energy required to remove an electron from an
atom in the gaseous state is the ionization energy.
Atoms with small radii have larger ionization
energies. A small radius indicates that the electrons
are being held tightly. It takes
more energy to remove an electron if it is held
tightly.
Since the periodic chart can be used to predict
trends in atomic radius, it can also be used to
predict trends in ionization energy.
Atomic radius is inversely related to ionization
energy. Thus, if you go up a column on the
periodic chart, ionization energy increases since
radius decreases.
Ionization energy also increases as you go from left
to right across the chart since radius decreases.

Below is a chart showing the ionization energies of

the period 2 elements. Notice the general trend of
increasing energy as you go from left to right (from
Li to Ne) across the chart. But you should also
notice the energy occasionally decreases as we
move from left to right. (Energies are expressed in
kj/mole).

Look at the ionization energy of Be. We would

expect it to have a value between that of Li and B
(between 520 and 800).
Instead, Be has an ionization energy of 900, which
is not between 520 and 800. Why is the energy Be
elevated? It is because Be has a full s sublevel.

Remember that a full sublevel stabilizes or makes

an atom less reactive. Thus, Be (and all the other
elements in group 2A) will
have an elevated ionization energy.
Nitrogen should have an ionization energy between
that of carbon and oxygen (between 1090 and
1310).
Instead, it has an energy of 1400. Nitrogen has an
elevated ionization energy since it has a half
filled p sublevel.

Having a half-filled p sublevel also stabilizes an

atom. Thus, nitrogen
and all the other elements in group 5A will have an
elevated
ionization energy.
Below is a graph showing the ionization energies
of the first 20
elements.
Group 8A elements have the highest form of
stability since all but helium have an octet, or 8
outer electrons. Argon, for example, has 8 electrons
in its 3rd energy level.

Atoms are reluctant to give up an electron if they

have an octet.
Thus, having an octet will elevate ionization
energy.
The energy required to remove the first electron
from a neutral atom is the first ionization energy.
The energy required to remove a 2nd electron is the
2ndionization energy. Removal of the 3 rd electron
is the third ionization energy, and so on.
Ionization energy increases with the removal of
each electron.
Each time an electron is removed, the charge on the
atom becomes more positive, causing the
remaining electrons to be held more tightly and
making the radius smaller.

As expected, the energies increase each time an

electron is removed. But notice that there is sudden
leap in energy from the 3 rd ionization energy to
the 4th. Why is the 4th ionization energy
suddenly so much larger?

When aluminum loses 3 electrons, it will have 10

electrons remaining.
Neon, a group 8A element, has 10 electrons. Thus,
after aluminum loses 3 electrons, it will have the
octet configuration of neon.
Having an octet makes the aluminum more
resistant to change.
Therefore, it will take more energy to remove the
4th electron from aluminum.

To summarize, the factors affecting ionization

energy include:
 Radius
 Octet rule
 Filled sublevel
 ½ filled sublevel
3. Electron affinity
Closely related to ionization energy is electron
affinity.
Electron affinity is the attraction of an atom for an
electron. It is a measure of the atom’s ability to
acquire additional electrons.
Like ionization energy, electron affinity increases
with decreasing atomic radius. If you go from left
to right across the chart, affinity increases. If you
go up a column, affinity increases.

The deviations from periodic trends match those

we see for ionization energy. For example, group
2A elements (Be, Mg) have negative affinities –
they don’t want to acquire electrons. This is
because group 2A elements have a full s sublevel.
And group 8A elements like Ne and Ar also have
negative affinities.
This is because they have an octet, and also do not
wish to acquire more electrons.

Finally, notice that nitrogen has a zero affinity.

Remember that nitrogen is a group 5A element,
which means it has a half-filled p sublevel. This
reduces its likelihood of acquiring electrons.
Phosphorus, also in group 5A, should have an
affinity between that of Si and S (between 120 and
200).
Instead, phosphorus has an affinity of 74.3, which
is lower than expected.
4. Electronegativity
Electronegativity is similar to electron affinity.
Electronegativity is the ability of an atom to draw
electrons toward itself when electrons are shared
between two atoms.
Atoms sometimes fight each other for possession of
electrons.
The electronegativity tells you the strength of an
atom in a tug of war over electrons.

For example, when Na and Cl come together, Cl will pull

the electron from Na toward itself because it has a
greater electronegativity.

Like affinity, electronegativity strength follows periodic

trends.
As atomic radius decreases, electronegativity strength
increases.
Thus, electronegativity increases from left to right across
the chart. It also increases as you go up the chart.

Notice that there are no electronegativity values for the group

8A elements.
Remember that these elements have an octet, and have no desire
to pull additional electrons toward itself.

5.metalic character
The metallic character of an element depends on how
readily it can lose its electrons and we can observe that:
On moving down a group, the atomic size increases and
the nuclear charge also increases. The effect of an
increased atomic size is greater as compared to the
increased nuclear charge. Therefore, metallic nature
increases as one moves down a group i.e., they can lose
electrons easily.
On moving across a period, nuclear pull increases due to
the increase in atomic number and thus the atomic size
decreases. Hence, elements cannot lose electrons easily.
Therefore, the metallic nature decreases across a period
moving from left to right.

Nuclear Charge
Nuclear charge is the total charge of the
nucleus.
Nuclear charge does not depend on the charge of
electrons in an atom.
Nuclear charge depends only on the number of protons
present in the nucleus.
The value of nuclear charge is always a positive value
and is higher than the value of effective nuclear charge.
 Effective nuclear charge
Effective nuclear charge is the net charge that an outer
shell electron experiences in an atom.
Effective nuclear charge is calculated considering the
effect of inner orbital electrons and the nuclear charge.
Effective nuclear charge does not depend only on the
number of protons.
Effective nuclear charge is a lower value than that of the
nuclear charge.
conclude the difference between Nuclear
Charge AND Effective nuclear charge.

Nuclear charge and effective nuclear charge are two different

values that are calculated regarding atoms of chemical elements.
Nuclear charge is the total charge of a nucleus. Effective nuclear
charge is the net charge that an outermost shell electron
experiences. The main difference between nuclear charge and
effective nuclear charge is that the value of the effective nuclear
charge is always a lower value than that of the nuclear charge.

Question

1.Why Atomic size decreases as we go from left to right

in Modern Periodic Table?

Solution

Answer:
Increasing nuclear charge pulls the electrons closer to the nucleus.

Explanation:

Increasing nuclear charge pulls the electrons closer to the nucleus.

Now, assuming that this one sentence didn't actually make anything clearer, let's
break this down:

Elements in the same period have electrons with roughly the same amount of energy.

As you move across a period from left to right, the elements have an increasing
number of protons.

Protons pull electrons closer to the nucleus because positive and negative charges
attract.

Because the electrons of all the elements in a period have the same amount of energy
(i.e. they're pretty much equal) and an increasing number of protons gives the nucleus
more "pulling power", the electrons are pulled more tightly to the nucleus. This makes
the atom smaller.
2. Nuclear charge increases both in a period and group. But, the
effective nuclear charge increases in a period and decreases in a group.
Why?

Hint: Nuclear charge is the total charge possessed by the nucleus of

an atom, it is mostly the charge on the proton as neutrons are
neutral. But the effective nuclear charge is the amount of nuclear
charge experienced by the outermost electrons, it is often
represented by Z*

 answer:
Nuclear charge is a function of the number of protons present in an
atom. And if we move from left to right or from top to bottom in a
periodic table we can always observe an increase in Atomic number
as there is an increase in the number of protons.
But the effective nuclear charge observes a decrease as we move
down the group, and sees an increase as we move along the period.
Because, as we move down the group the electrons are added to a
new orbital which increases the atomic size of the atom, and reduces
the influence of the nucleus on the outermost electron, hence we
observe a decreased value of the effective nuclear charge.
But as we go along the period, the number of protons increases, and
the new electrons are added to the same orbital, which retains the
nuclear charge of the atom, and the effective nuclear charge
increases. As a result of the increased nuclear charge the size of the
atom decreases.
Therefore, we can conclude that the reversed phenomenon
responsible for the change of the trend is the atomic radius.