PERIODIC TABLE - INTRODUCTION #1

PERIODIC TABLE MODULES This set of modules are on the design & use of the Periodic  Table.  Proceed through each module's readings & watching the video clips for details.  Take notes as needed!!! COMPLETE the "ELEMENT of the DAY" COMPLETE the 5 (FIVE) SUPERHERO ELEMENTAL  TRADING CARDS.

INTRODUCTION TO PERIODIC TABLE CHART

The most important chemistry chart there is, and the cornerstone of science since 1869

• The Periodic Table is a chart which arranges the chemical elements in a useful, logical manner.   
• Elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number, lined up so that elements which exhibit similar properties are arranged in the same row or column as each other. 
• The Periodic Table is one of the most useful tools of chemistry and the other sciences. 

Here are 10 fun and interesting Periodic Table facts:

1. While Dmitri Mendeleev is most often cited as the inventor of the modern periodic table, his table was just the first to gain scientific credibility, and not the first table that organized the elements according to periodic properties.
2. There are 90 elements on the periodic table that occur in nature. All of the other elements are strictly man-made.
3. Technetium was the first element to be made artificially.
4. The International Union of Pure Applied Chemistry, IUPAC, revises the periodic table as new data becomes available. At the time of this writing, the most recent version of the periodic table was approved 19 February 2010.
5. The rows of the periodic table are called periods. An element's period number is the highest unexcited energy level for an electron of that element.
6. Columns of elements help to distinguish groups in the periodic table. Elements within a group share several common properties and often have the same outer electron arrangement.
7. Most of the elements on the periodic table are metals. The alkali metals, alkaline earths, basic metals, transition metals, lanthanides and actinides all are groups of metals.
8. The present periodic table has room for 118 elements. Elements aren't discovered or created in order of atomic number. Scientists are working on creating and verifying element 120, which will change the appearance of the table.
9. Although you might expect atoms of an element to get larger as their atomic number increases, this does not always occur because the size of an atom is determined by the diameter of its electron shell. In fact, element atoms usually decrease in size as you move from left to right across a row or period.
10. The main difference between the modern periodic table and Mendeleev's periodic table is that Mendeleev's table arranged the elements in order of increasing atomic weight while the modern table orders the elements by increasing atomic number.

We sometimes use the terms atom and element to mean the same thing.

As far as we know, there are only so many basic elements. Up to this point in time, we have discovered/created over 120. While there may be more out there to discover, the basic elements remain the same.

Iron (Fe) atoms found on Earth are identical to iron atoms found on meteorites. The iron atoms on Mars that make the soil red are the same too. 

With the tools you learn here, you can explore and understand the Universe. You will never stop discovering new reactions and compounds, but the elements will remain the same. 

The List of Elements

Let’s start with 18 ELEMENTS.   "Why start with 18?"  Because the rules for the first eighteen elements are very straightforward: 

1)       Electrons fit nicely into three shells.

·          Remember that the shells are the places you will find the electrons as they spin around the nucleus. 

2)           These elements make up most of the matter in the Universe.

3)           It's a lot easier to remember facts about 18 elements than over 100 elements.

Who are we kidding? We know you want information on more than eighteen elements. We've added the next 18 elements from the fourth period (row) of the periodic table. You need to remember that this is the first row with transition elements. The transition metals have electron configurations that are a little different from the first 18 elements. Make sure you understand the first 18 before you move on to this set. 

Elements as Building Blocks

As you probably saw, the periodic table is organized like a big grid. The elements are placed in specific locations because of the way they look and act. If you have ever looked at a grid, you know that there are rows (left to right) and columns (up and down). The periodic table has rows and columns, and they each mean something different. 

You've got Your Period/Rows...

REVIEW

Even though they skip some squares in between, all of the rows go left to right. When you look at a periodic table, each of the rows is considered to be a different period (Get it? Like PERIODic table.).

In the periodic table,

·          elements have something in common if they are in the same row.

·          All of the elements in a period have the same number of atomic orbitals.

Every element in the top row (the first period) has one orbital for its electrons.

All of the elements in the second row (the second period) have two orbitals for their electrons.

It goes down the periodic table like that. At this time, the maximum number of electron orbitals or electron shells for any element is seven. 

...and Your Groups

Now you know about periods. The periodic table also has a special name for its columns.

·        When a column goes from top to bottom, it's called a group.

·        The elements in a group have the same number of electrons in their outer orbital.

·        Those outer electrons are also called valence electrons. They are the ones involved in chemical bonds with other elements. 

Every element in the first column (group one) has one electron in its outer shell. Every element in the second column (group two) has two electrons in the outer shell. As you keep counting the columns, you'll know how many electrons are in the outer shell. There are some exceptions to the order when you look at the transition elements, but you get the general idea. Transition elements start to add electrons to the second-to-last shell. 

Two at the Top

Hydrogen (H) and helium (He) are special elements. 

Hydrogen can have the talents and electrons of two groups: one and seven. To scientists, hydrogen is sometimes missing an electron, and sometimes has an extra one. 

Helium is different from all of the other elements. It can only have two electrons in its outer shell. Even though it only has two, it is still grouped with elements that have eight (i.e., noble gases).

The noble gases and helium are all "happy," because their outermost electron shell is full. The elements in the center section are called transition elements. They have special electron rules too. 

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