THE PERIODIC TABLE : CHEMICAL

PERIODICITY
OBJECTIVES OF SECTION 9.1 A & B :

• DESCRIBE QUALITATIVELY AND INDICATE THE PERIODICITY IN

THE VARIATIONS IN ATOMIC RADIUS, IONIC RADIUS , MELTING
POINT AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF THE ELEMENTS IN A
PERIOD.
• EXPLAIN QUALITATIVELY THE VARIATION IN ATOMIC AND IONIC
RADIUS
THE PATTERNS
 PERIODICITY OF ATOMIC RADII ACROSS A PERIOD
IS BASICALLY THE RECURRENCE OF THE SAME PATTERN IN ONE
PERIOD TO THE NEXT.
 ATOMIC RADII CAN ENABLE US TO COMPARE THE SIZE OF DIFFERENT ATOMS.
 THIS ATOMIC RADII CAN BE MEASURED FROM AN ELEMENTS SINGLE
COVALENT RADIUS :
1. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO NUCLEI OF THE SAME TYPE OF ATOM
(ATOMIC RADII) CAN BE DETERMINED BY COVALENT RADIUS AND THEN
DIVIDED BY TWO TO FIND THE ATOMIC (SINGLE COVALENT) RADIUS.
2. ATOMIC RADIUS CAN ALSO BE MEASURED USING METALLIC RADII BUT IT IS
MOST PREFERABLE TO USE COVALENT RADII BECAUSE IT CAN BE
OBTAINED FOR MOST ELEMENTS HENCE PROVIDING THE BEST DATA FOR
COMPARISON PURPOSES ACROSS A PERIOD.
NB* : ATOMIC RADII IS SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS SINGLE
COVALENT RADII.
Period 3 (Na) (Mg) (Al) (Si) (P) (S) (Cl) (Ar)
element

Atomic 0.157 0.136 0.125 0.117 0.110 0.104 0.099 N/A

radius/nm
• THE ATOMIC RADII OF ELEMENTS DECREASES ACROSS A PERIOD AS PROTON NUMBER
INCREASES. THIS IS BECAUSE OF AN INCREASE IN THE NUCLEAR CHARGE(NUMBER OF
PROTONS) SO THE OUTER (VALENCY) ELECTRONS ARE MORE STRONGLY ATTACHED TO
THE NUCLEUS.
• THE DECREASE IN ATOMIC RADIUS BECOMES SMALLER WITH INCREASING PROTON
NUMBER BECAUSE OF INCREASED REPULSION BETWEEN ELECTRONS IN THE OUTER
SHELL.
• NOBLE GASES IN GROUP 18 PERIOD 3 DO NOT HAVE A SINGLE COVALENT RADIUS
BECAUSE THEY DO NOT FORM BONDS WITH EACH OTHER SINCE THEY ARE UNREACTIVE.
• AS A RESULT , WE CAN THEN OBTAIN THEIR ATOMIC RADII FROM THEIR VAN DER WAALS
RADIUS. THIS IS DONE BY NOTING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE NUCLEI OF TWO
NEIGHBOURING , TOUCHING ATOMS WHICH ARE NOT CHEMICALLY BONDED TOGETHER.
THIS DISTANCE IS THEN DIVIDED BY TWO TO GIVE THE VAN DER WAALS RADIUS.
• VAN DER WAALS RADIUS WILL BE HIGHER THAN THE SINGLE COVALENT RADIUS OF ANY
GIVEN ELEMENT AS THERE IS NO OVERLAP OF ELECTRON CLOUDS IN VAN DER WAALS
RADIUS.
 WHY DOES ATOMIC RADIUS DECREASE ACROSS A
PERIOD?
• ACROSS A PERIOD, NUMBER OF PROTONS(& HENCE THEIR NUCLEAR CHARGE) AND
NUMBER OF ELECTRONS INCREASES BY ONE WITH EACH SUCCESSIVE ELEMENT.
• THE EXTRA ELECTRON ADDED TO THE ATOMS OF EACH SUCCESSIVE ELEMENT STILL
OCCUPIES THE SAME PRINCIPAL QUANTUM SHELL(ELECTRON SHELL OR ENERGY LEVEL).
CONSEQUENTLY , THIS MEANS SHIELDING EFFECT REMAINS ROUGHLY CONSTANT
MEANING THE GREATER ATTRACTIVE FORCE EXERTED BY THE INCREASING POSITIVE
NUCLEAR CHARGE ON THE OUTER SHELL ELECTRONS PULLS THEM CLOSER TO NUCLEUS,
HENCE ATOMIC RADIUS DECREASES ACROSS A PERIOD.
 PATTERNS OF IONIC RADII( SPECIFICALLY IN
PERIOD 3)
• POSITIVELY CHARGED IONS (CATIONS) HAVE LOST THEIR OUTER SHELL ELECTRONS ( IN
THIS CASE THE 3RD ENERGY LEVEL) FROM THEIR ORIGINAL ATOMS. AS A RESULT, THEY ARE
MUCH SMALLER THAN THEIR ATOMS.
• MOREOVER , THERE IS LESS SHIELDING OF OUTER ELECTRONS IN THE CATIONS AS
COMPARED TO THEIR ORIGINAL ATOMS.
• FROM NA + TO THE SI 4+ , IONS GET SMALLER FOR REASONS SIMILAR TO THOSE FOR THE
DECREASING ATOMIC RADII ACROSS A PERIOD.
• THE INCREASING NUCLEAR CHARGE ATTRACTS THE OUTERMOST ELECTRONS IN THE 2ND
PRINCIPAL QUANTUM SHELL CLOSER TO THE NUCLEUS WITH INCREASING ATOMIC
NUMBER.
• NEGATIVELY CHARGED IONS ARE LARGER THAN THEIR ORIGINAL ATOMS BECAUSE EACH
ATOM WILL HAVE GAINED ONE OR MORE EXTRA ELECTRONS INTO THEIR 3RD QUANTUM
PRINCIPAL SHELL , HENCE INCREASING THE REPULSION BETWEEN ITS ELECTRONS
WHEREAS NUCLEAR CHARGE REMAINS CONSTANT.
• AS A RESULT, THIS INCREASES THE SIZE OF AN ANION COMPARED TO ITS ORIGINAL ATOM.
 • ANIONS DECREASE IN SIZE FROM THE PHOSPHOROUS ION TO THE CHLORIDE
ION AS THE NUCLEAR CHARGE INCREASES ACROSS A PERIOD.

Ions of Na+ Mg 2+ Al 3+ Si 4+ P 3- S 2- Cl - Ar -
Period 3
elements

Ionic 0.095 0.065 0.050 0.041 0.212 0.184 0.181 N/A

radius /
nm
• FROM NA+, MG 2+ , AL 3+ , THE IONS HAVE THE SAME ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION
WHICH S 1S2 2S2 2P6 . THEIR ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THEIR NUCLEAR CHARGE WHICH
INCREASES FROM NA TO AL. THIS INCREASING NUCLEAR CHARGE INCREASES THE
ATTRACTIVE FORCE ON THE OUTER ELECTRONS HENCE CAUSING A DECREASE IN
IONIC RADII.
• FROM THE P3- , S 2- , CL – IONS HAVE THE SAME ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION WHICH IS
1S2 2S2 2P6 3S2 3P6 . THE DECREASE IN IONIC RADII IS ALSO DUE TO THE INCREASING
NUCLEAR CHARGE.
• NB : THE RADII OF NEGATIVE IONS ARE LARGER THAN THE RADII OF THE POSITIVE
IONS BECAUSE THERE IS AN EXTRA SHELL OF ELECTRONS IN THE NEGATIVE IONS.
 PERIODIC PATTERNS OF MELTING POINTS AND
ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY ( PERIOD 3 )

• PHYSICAL PROPERTIES SUCH AS THE MELTING POINT AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF

ELEMENTS ALSO SHOW TRENDS ACROSS A PERIOD.
• ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY INCREASES ACROSS THE METALS OF PERIOD 3 FROM NA
( GROUP 1) TO AL ( GROUP 13 ) .
• ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY THEN DROPS TO SILICON , WHICH IS A SEMI- CONDUCTOR AND
FALLS EVEN FURTHER TO THE NON – METALLIC INSULATORS PHOSPHOROUS AND SULPHUR.
• METALLIC BONDING OF NA TO AL CAN BE DESCRIBED AS POSITIVE IONS ARRANGED IN A
GIANT LATTICE HELD TOGETHER BY A SEA OF DELOCALISED ELECTRONS( FROM THE
OUTERMOST SHELL). THESE THEN DRIFT THROUGHOUT THE METAL LAYERS WHEN A
POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE IS APPLIED.
• BOTH THE MELTING POINT AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY INCREASE
FROM NA TO MG TO AL. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF ELECTRONS
EACH METAL DONATES INTO THE SEA OF DELOCALISED ELECTRONS , AND
THE INCREASING CHARGE ON THE METAL IONS IN THE GIANT METALLIC
LATTICE.
• AT R.T.P , PHOSPHOROUS AND SULPHUR ARE SOLIDS WITH LOW MELTING
POINTS AND CHLORINE IS A GAS.
• ARGON ITSELF EXISTS AS SINGLE ATOMS WITH VERY WEAK VAN DER WAALS
FORCES BETWEEN THESE ATOMS.
 MELTING POINTS OF PERIOD 3 ELEMENTS ( IN
KELVINS)

Period 3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
element
Melting 371 923 932 1683 317 392 172 84
point/ K
 BONDING AND STRUCTURE OF PERIOD 3
ELEMENTS

Period 3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
element
Bonding metallic metallic metallic covalent covalent covalent covalent N/A

Structure giant giant giant giant simple simple simple simple

metallic metallic metallic molecular molecular molecular molecular molecular