Periodic Table

Periodic Table

The majority of persons when I talk about chemistry spontaneously think on a periodic table. The reason of that is because chemistry studies the elements which are de basis unit of the matter. It is very important know about the periodic table no matter if you will study any career different of chemistry. The periodic table provides a lot of information that help to understand the elements behavior and why they interact the way they do to create or produce beautiful things of the nature. Basically, we all need go to the periodic table to understand the how the world works. Today, I am going to talk about the periodic table and a big part of the information that it provide us.  

The periodic table: The periodic table of the chemical elements displays the organizing principles of matter. The table is a tabular depiction of the chemical elements and their characteristics. Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev is generally credited with the invention of the periodic table. The layout of the table has been refined and extended over time, as new elements have been discovered and new theoretical models have been developed to explain chemical behavior.

·        Each element is placed in a specific location because of its atomic structure.

·        Each row and column has specific characteristics. The elements found in column share certain similarities and the elements in rows share different characteristics.

·        When you look at the periodic table, each row is called a period. All of the elements in a period have the same number of atomic orbitals. There is a maximum of seven electron orbitals which is also the number of rows in the periodic table.

·        The periodic table also has a special name for its vertical columns. Each column is called a group.

·        The elements in each group have the same number of electrons in the outer orbital. Those outer electrons are called valence electrons and they are involved in chemical bonds with other elements. They are responsible of the chemical reactions.

·        As you keep counting the columns, you'll know how many electrons are in the outer shell. But there are exceptions to the order when you look at the transition elements, which are the elements from column 3 to 12. Sometimes they are identifies as columns B and the others that are not transition metals are identified as column A.

·        Transition elements add electrons to the second-to-last orbital.

·        Groups 1-2 (except hydrogen) and 13-18 are termed main group elements.

·        Main group elements in the first two rows of the table are called typical elements.

·        The first row of the f-block elements (That are usually located below the table) are called lanthanoids. The second row of the f-block elements is called actanoids.

·        The following names for specific groups in the periodic table are in common use:

o   Group 1: alkali metals

o   Group 2: alkaline earth metals

o   Group 11: coinage metals (not an IUPAC approved name)

o   Group 15: pnictogens (not an IUPAC approved name)

o   Group 16: chalcogens

o   Group 17: halogens

o   Group 18: noble gases

· Metals: In the periodic table, you can see a stair-stepped line starting at Boron (B), atomic number 5, and going all the way down to Polonium (Po), atomic number 84. Except for Germanium (Ge) and Antimony (Sb), all the elements to the left of that line can be classified as metals. These metals have properties that you normally associate with the metals you encounter in everyday life:
o They are solid (with the exception of mercury, Hg, a liquid).

o They are shiny, good conductors of electricity and heat.

o They are ductile (they can be drawn into thin wires).

o They are malleable (they can be easily hammered into very thin sheets).

o Metals tend to lose electrons easily. When they lose electrons and as a superscript number with a positive sing like Mg2+, they are called cations.


· Nonmetals: Except for the elements that border the stair-stepped line, the elements to the right of the line are classified as nonmetals (along with hydrogen). Nonmetals have properties opposite those of the metals:
o The nonmetals are brittle, not malleable or ductile, poor conductors of both heat and electricity, and tend to gain electrons in chemical reactions. When they gain electrons and as a superscript number with a negative sing like O2-, they are called anions.

· Metalloids: The elements that border the stair-stepped line are classified as metalloids. The metalloids, or semimetals, have properties that are somewhat of a cross between metals and nonmetals.
o Metalloids tend to be economically important because of their unique conductivity properties (they only partially conduct electricity), which make them valuable in the semiconductor and computer chip industry.


     Finally, as we can see there is a lot of information that the periodic table can provide us. I exhort you to see the image and videos below. If you have questions or doubts let me know.

References:

https://www.google.com.pr/search?q=periodic+table&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=971&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS6I-73KfMAhXHFz4KHeC4AW8QsAQIKw#imgrc=5ustKJ5-SG0c0M%3A

https://www.webelements.com/periodicity/group_number/

http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/periodictable.html

http://www.chem4kids.com/files/elem_pertable.html

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXOcWAfBdZg