2 The Periodic Table

• Horizontal rows are called periods

• The elements in the first three periods have the same number of
inner shell electrons but differ in the number of electrons in their
outer shell

• Li Be B C N O F Ne
2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8
•

• Vertical rows are called groups

• All elements in a group have the same number of outer (valence)
shell electrons – group 1 has 1 outer electron, group 2 has 2 outer
electrons etc
• All members of the same group have similar chemical properties
• The periodic table divides the metals (on the left hand
side) from the non-metals (on the right hand side)
• The metalloids are the elements along the stair-case line
• Atomic radii decrease across a period because there is
greater attraction of the nucleus for the electrons; the
electrons are pulled closer to the nucleus.

• Atomic radii increase down a group as the number of

electron shells increases and the force of attraction
between electrons and the nucleus decreases.

• Metallic character increases down a group and

decreases from left to right across the table.

•
• Group Names
• Group 1 Alkali metals
• Group 2 Alkali Earth metals
• Group 7 Halogens
• Group 8 Noble gases

• Block names
• Elements in the block between groups 2 and 3 are called
transition elements.
• Ease of forming ions

• For the metals:

• Metals form positive ions
• The bigger the size of the atom the more readily it forms
a positive ion
• This is because the larger the atom the less effectively
the nucleus holds on to the outer electrons so they are
lost more easily

• For the non-metals

• Non-metals form negative ions
• The smaller the atom the more readily it forms a
negative ion
• This is because the smaller the atom the more effectively
the nucleus attracts incoming electrons
• Metals and non-metals form ionic bonds
• Non-metals and non-metals form covalent bonds

• Which of the following pairs do you expect to form ionic

bonds more readily?

i) Aluminium and fluorine

ii) Potassium and fluorine
iii) Beryllium and sulphur

Which is the largest metal? Potassium

Which is the smallest non-metal? Fluorine
 Potassium and fluorine will form the strongest bonds
and hence form an ionic compound more readily
• Position in the Periodic Table and Oxidation
State

• The maximum oxidation state of an element can be

worked out from the group number
• For positive oxidation states (i.e. the metals)
• A group 2 element (e.g. Mg) has a max oxidation state of +2
• A group 3 element (e.g. Al) has a max oxidation state of +3

• For negative oxidation states (i.e. the non-metals)

• Max negative ox state = group no – 8
• e.g. for chlorine max negative ox state = 7 – 8 = -1

• Note: You cannot use this scheme to find the max oxidation states
of the transition elements!
• We can then use this to predict the
formula of compounds.
• e.g. Sr has a max ox state of +2
• Br has a max ox state of -1
•  the formula of strontium bromide is
SrBr2
Common Anions and Polyatomic ions

Transition elements

Ag+

Zn2+

- ethanoate
CH3COO
manganate (VII)
 acid + base → salt + water
acid + metal → salt + hydrogen
acid + carbonate → salt + water + carbon dioxide

Examples

HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H2O

2HNO3 + Zn → Zn(NO3)2 + H2

H2SO4 + Na2CO3 → Na2SO4 + CO2 + H2O

Acids

HCl hydrochloric acid

HNO3 nitric acid
H2SO4 sulphuric acid
H3PO4 Phosphoric acid

A hydrocarbon (contains carbon and hydrogen only) burns in oxygen to give carbon dioxide and water

The Seven Diatomic Substances (plus two friends)

Hydrogen H2
Nitrogen N2
Oxygen O2
Fluorine F2
Chlorine Cl2
Bromine Br2
Iodine I2

In addition to the above, phosphorous is P4 and sulfur is S8.

Note: The systematic name for CH3COO- is the ethanoate ion – you may see it named as
acetate ion

The systematic name for CH3COOH is ethanoic acid – you may see it named as acetic acid
Anhydrous - with all water removed, especially water of crystallization.
Anhydride - a compound derived by the removal of water from an acid or
other compound e.g. Na2CO3
Hydrated - chemically combined with water in its molecular form 
e.g. Na2CO3.5H2O
an-1 a-
Word Origin
 
a prefix occurring before stems beginning with a vowel or h from Greek, where 
it means “not,” “without,” “lacking” 
 
Examples
Apolitical – not political
Abacterial – free or without micro-organisms
Anaerobic -
(of an organism or tissue) living in the absence of air or free oxygen.
Analgesic – not sensitive to pain (algesic – sensitive to pain)
Apyrexia - The absence or remission of a fever

 Also see Medical TERMINOLOGY Prefixes, roots, suffixes

http://www.globalrph.com/medterm.htm

http://wordinfo.info/units/view/2838/
 Things to do!

Learn the formulae and charges of polyatomic ions!!!

Read OpenStax Text Book Sections 2.4-2.7 and 4.1

Exercise 4.1

An Interactive simulation for balancing equations

http://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/balancing-
chemical-equations/latest/balancing-chemical-
equations_en.html