Periodic Table Tour
Mady Bixby
THE DIFFERENT GROUPS
Alkali Metals
- Very reactive metals
- Does not occur freely in nature
- One electron in outer shell
- Malleable and ductile
- Good conductors of heat and electricity
- Softer than most other metals
- Can explode if exposed to water
Examples: Lithium and Sodium
Alkaline (Rare) Earth Metals
- Properties depend on the ease with which electrons are lost
- Two electrons in outer shell
- Low electron affinities
- Low electronegativities
- Readily form divalent cations
- Very reactive
- Not found free in nature
Examples: Calcium and Barium
Halogens
- Reactive
- Range from solid to liquid to gas at room temperature
- High electronegativities
- Particularly reactive with alkali metals and alkaline earths
- 7 electrons in outer shells
Examples: Chlorine and Iodine
Nonmetals
- Doesn't easily conduct electricity or heat
- Very brittle, can't be made into wires or sheets
- Gas or solid at room temperature
- Does not reflect light
Examples: Oxygen and Carbon
Metalloids
- Found among metal and non-metal line, excluding Aluminum
- Both metal and non-metal properties
- Silicon and Germanium are semi-conductors
- Useful in uses of computers and calculators
Examples: Boron and Silicon
Noble Gases
- Not considered inert until 1960s
- Have the maximum number of electrons possible in their outer shell, making them stable
- Found in group 18
Transition Metals
- Ductile and malleable
- Conduct electricity and heat
- Valence electrons present in more than 1 shell
- Iron, cobalt, and nickel are only elements known to produce a magnetic field
Examples: Iron and Cobalt
Actinides
- All radioactive
- High diversity in oxidation numbers
- All unstable
- Occur in nature as sea water and minerals
- Ability to undergo nuclear reactions
Examples: Uranium and Americium
Lanthanides
- All are uniformly similar
- Have magnetic characteristics
- Relatively abundant in Earth's crust
- Bright, silvery appearance
- Very reactive
- Burn easily in air
Examples: Terbium and Neodymium
Post-Transition Metals
- Known as "poor metals"
- Solid metal under standard conditions
- Malleable and ductile
- Good conductors of heat and electricity
- Fairly high density
Examples: Tin and Aluminum