periodic table of the elements 515 the death of his wife in 1981, Pauling spent a great deal of his

time at his ranch near Big sur, California. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991, Pauling battled the disease for three years. the world lost one of its greatest scientists and humanitarians on august 19, 1994, when Linus Pauling passed away at the age of 93, at his ranch near the coast. See also atomic structure; biochemistry; bonding theories; covalent compounds; Crick, Francis; Einstein, Albert; electron configurations; Franklin, Rosalind; ionic compounds; nucleic Acids; organic chemistry; proteins; quantum mechanics; Watson, James; Wilkins, Maurice; X-ray crystallography. Further reading
Pasachoff, naomi e. Linus Pauling: Advancing Science, Advocating Peace (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12). Berkeley heights, n.J.: enslow, 2004. Pauling, Linus, and Barbara marinacci. Linus Pauling in His Own Words: Selections from His Writings, Speeches, and Interviews. n.Y.: touchstone, 1995.

periodic table of the elements the periodic table of the elements, or periodic table, is a diagrammatic representation of the known elements listed according to atomic number (the number of protons) of the element. (See appendix: Periodic Table of the Elements). this arrangement of the elements is based on the periodic law, which states that the physical and chemical properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic number. the position of each element on the table also indicates the electron configuration of the element. For example, the element carbon, with an atomic number of 6 and an atomic mass of 12.011, has an electron configuration of 1s22s22p2. the periodic table is a powerful tool for understanding chemistry. Within a single family, the elements display similar chemical characteristics. Rather than memorizing information about each element, a chemist has only to learn about a single element in the family. if sodium and chlorine combine to form table salt, naCl, other members of the sodium family will also combine with chlorine to form salts. Because positioning of the elements on the periodic table visually represents the periodic law, a simple glance allows chemists to predict how one element will react with another. the 60 or so elements familiar to 19th-century scientists exhibited a wide range of chemical and physical properties. the periodic table resulted from the work of many chemists, who struggled to find patterns and determine relationships among the ele-

ments to establish order in the then-chaotic field of chemistry. the British chemist John newlands was one of the first to arrange the elements into the form of a table. he based his table on the law of octaves, after recognizing that the properties of the elements repeated every eighth element. Building upon the work of newlands and others, the Russian chemist Dmitry mendeleyev assembled all the pieces of information together to develop the first periodic table that resembles the familiar modern version. mendeleyev first arranged the 63 known elements according to atomic mass. he also took into account the law of octaves by arranging elements into horizontal rows called periods in his table. elements positioned in the same vertical column, or group, had similar properties. the table that mendeleyev published in 1871 did not differ significantly from newlandss, except that mendeleyev left gaps and made bold predictions for the undiscovered elements. Because of his tremendous intuition in recognizing a periodic dependence of the elements based on their atomic weights, mendeleyev is now known as the father of the periodic table. the British physicist henry moseley x-rayed crystals of various elements and found out that the diffracted wavelengths correlated in a systematic manner with the atomic numbers of the elements, demonstrating that atomic numbers represented more than simply increasing mass. moseley recognized that the number of protons and electrons gave an element its properties. as moseley discovered, the arrangement of the elements into specific groups and periods directly relates to their electron configuration. this arrangement of electrons into specific atomic orbitals gives elements within a group the similar physical and chemical properties seen by early scientists. the periods on the periodic table are numbered 17 from top to bottom. elements in a period have their valence electrons in the same energy level. the groups are numbered in an old-style format, where the representative elements are given names iaViiia, and the transition metals are named iBViiiB. the old-style format has been replaced by the iuPaC numbering system, where the groups are labeled 118 consecutively. the elements within a group have similar physical and chemical properties, but with some slight differences moving down the rows represented in the group based on the number of energy levels the element contains. the periodic table is conveniently divided into two distinct regions, metals and nonmetals, separated by the stair-step line. the metals, found beneath the line, include all members of groups 112 as well as some elements of groups 1315. most of the known elements are metals and share the characteristics of being malleable and ductile and being good conductors of electricity and heat. except mercury, all metals are solid at room temperature.

516 periodic table of the elements

The periodic table is arranged by increasing atomic number. The columns of the table are groups and the rows of the table are periods.

the second region of the periodic table contains the nonmetals, which are found to the right of the stair-step line in the upper-right corner of the periodic table. this group is made up of the halogens, noble gases, and hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, and selenium. nonmetals are considered insulators. they form ionic bonds with metals as a result of their high electronegativities, and they form covalent bonds with other nonmetals. many nonmetals also exist in nature as diatomic molecules: hydrogen, oxygen, bromine, fluorine, iodine, nitrogen, and chlorine. Different nonmetals exist as gases, liquids, or solids at room temperature. elements known as metalloids, or semiconductors, lie along the stair-step line separating metals and nonmetals. as their name implies, these elements conduct electricity better than nonmetals but not as well as metals. other properties also lie somewhere between the properties of the metals and nonmetals. the metalloids include boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, tellurium, and polonium. the elements of the periodic table can also be divided into the s-block, p-block, d-block, and f-

block elements. this refers to the sublevel in which the elements have their valence electrons. Because they illustrate the entire range of chemical properties, the s-block and p-block elements are known as representative elements. For all of the representative elements, the group number in the old-style numbering system equals the number of electrons in the outer energy level. the period number of the representative elements indicates the energy level of the valence electrons of that element. the first group of representative elements is the alkali metals (Group ia, iuPaC Group 1). this group consists of the elements lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium. the elemental forms of the alkali metals are highly reactive. the alkali metals have a low density and can explode if they react with water. each element in this group has one valence electron, which is located in an s sublevel. the alkali metals form +1 cations by losing their s1 electrons and readily form ionic compounds (salts) with nonmetals. salts of alkali metals are soluble in water. the alkaline earth metals (Group iia, iuPaC Group 2) include the elements beryllium, magne-

periodic table of the elements sium, calcium, strontium, barium, and radium. they are gray-white soft solids and, as do the alkali metals, have a low density. the alkaline earth metals are less soluble in water than the alkali metals. these elements are always found combined with other elements in nature because they are considered very reactive, although they are less reactive than the alkali metals. each element in this group has two valence electrons, located in an s sublevel, and therefore form +2 cations by losing their s2 electrons. the next group of representative elements, often called the boron group (Group iiia, iuPaC Group 13), consists of boron, aluminum, gallium, indium, and thallium. the elements in this group exhibit a range of properties. Boron is considered a metalloid, while the other members of this group are considered poor metals. Boron is black, lustrous, and brittle. aluminum, the most abundant element in the earths crust, is strong and, like all metals, is ductile, and, therefore, very useful in a variety of manufacturing processes. Gallium is a semiconductor and has a melting point of 86F (30C) and a boiling point of 3,999F (2,204C). all of the elements in this group have three valence electrons located in the s and p sublevels. they usually form +3 cations by losing their s2 and p1 electrons. the carbon group (Group iVa, iuPaC Group 14) contains carbon, silicon, germanium, tin, and lead. each of these elements has four electrons in its outer energy level in s and p sublevels. the elements in this group generally do not form ions, although they can. they are more likely to form covalent compounds. Carbon can form either cations or anions with -4, +2, or +4 oxidation states by gaining or losing its valence electrons. the element carbon is fundamental to all living organisms, as it forms the framework of organic molecules. other forms of carbon are graphite and diamonds. silicon, which is very abundant in the earths crust, acts as a semiconductor, as does germanium; both of these elements have played a pivotal role in the development of the computer chip. the final metals in this group, tin and lead, are relatively nonreactive. the elements in the nitrogen group (Group Va, iuPaC Group 15) all have five electrons in their outer shell. this group includes nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth. the nitrogen group contains nonmetals (nitrogen and phosphorus), metalloids (arsenic and antimony), and metals (bismuth). the elements in this group have five valence electrons in both s and p sublevels. the chalcogen group (Group Via, iuPaC Group 16) is also called the oxygen family after the most abundant element on earth. the group includes oxygen, sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium. all have six valence electrons located in the s and p sublevels. the elements in this group typically form anions with a -2 charge by gaining two electrons from a metal. oxygen and sulfur are nonmetals, whereas selenium, tellurium, and polonium are metalloids. the halogens (Group Viia, iuPaC Group 17) participate in the formation of many common compounds. the elements in the halogen group are fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine. each has seven valence electrons with two in the s sublevel and five in the p sublevel. the elements in this group will become anions with -1 charge when they ionize by gaining an electron from metals. this allows them to form ionic compounds with metals easily. Fluorine and chlorine are gases, bromine is a liquid, iodine is a solid, and astatine is a rare radioactive solid. the final group of representative elements (Group Viiia, iuPaC Group 18) is the noble gases. this group contains helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. the noble gases have a filled outer energy level with two electrons in the s sublevel and six in the p sublevel. since they have a full outer shell, these elements do not gain or lose electrons and are therefore considered nonreactive. the d-block elements (Group iiiBiiB, iuPaC Group 312), the transition metals, are malleable and ductile and are good conductors of electricity. many elements in this block have multiple oxidation states. the outer energy level of transition metals often has a full s sublevel, and some electrons exist in the d sublevel of the second highest energy level as well. the transition metals contain a wide variety of elements including copper, gold, iron, silver, tungsten, zinc, mercury, nickel, and cobalt. the f-block elements are called inner transition metals and are divided into two periods called the lanthanides and actinides. the lanthanides were once called the rare earth metals despite the fact that they are not very rare. the lanthanides have high melting points and silver color. the lanthanides include elements with atomic numbers of 5771: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium. all of the elements in this period have a full 6s sublevel, and most are adding electrons to their 4f energy sublevel. they are usually depicted as a block of boxes below the central portion of the periodic table. the actinides include elements with atomic numbers 89103: actinium, thorium, protactinium, uranium, neptunium, plutonium, americium, curium, berkelium, californium, einsteinium, fermium, mendelevium, novelium, and lawrencium. the actinides are all radioactive and have electrons in their 5f electron shell. they have a wider range of physical properties than the lanthanides. as the lanthanides

517

518 periodic trends are, the actinides are depicted as a block of boxes below the central portion of the periodic table. hydrogen, the most common element in the universe, behaves as no other element in the periodic table does because it has only one proton and one electron. While it is listed as a group 1 element, hydrogen is not an alkali metal. hydrogen can react with many elements, including oxygen. hydrogen can become a cation with a +1 charge (essentially, a proton), or it can become an anion known as hydride with a -1 charge. hydrogen gas and oxygen gas react violently to form water. hydrogen is also found in all hydrocarbons and biomolecules, such as fats, proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, that are essential to the chemistry of life. For these reasons, hydrogen exists in a class on the periodic table all by itself. See also appendix iV; atomic structure; Dalton, John; electron configurations; Mendeleyev, Dmitry; periodic trends. Further reading
Wilbraham, antony B., Dennis D. staley, michael s. matta, and edward L. Waterman. Chemistry. new York: Prentice hall, 2005.

periodic trends the periodic table of the elements is a visual representation of the atomic structure of the known chemical elements. the table is arranged in order of increasing atomic number, with elements having the same number of valence electrons found in the same column or group, and elements with valence electrons in the same energy level found in the same row or period. Periodic trends become evident when the chemical and physical properties of the elements vary according to their position on the periodic table. types of periodic trends that can be determined by an elements position on the periodic table include atomic mass, atomic radii, ionic radii, density, ionization energy, electronegativity, and electron affinity. each of these properties contributes to the chemical reactivity of the element. the arrangements of the elements on the earliest versions of the periodic table depended on increasing atomic mass, and then in 1914 a British chemist named henry moseley rearranged the table and based his arrangement on atomic number. the current model of the table shows that most elements follow the trend of increasing atomic number across the periods from left to right and down the groups from top to bottom. exceptions include cobalt and nickel, tellerium and iodine, and several of the newly discovered elements. in general, the periodic trend is that the atomic mass of the element increases with the atomic number.

many of the periodic trends of elements result from the shielding effect of the electrons. every nucleus exerts a positive attraction, called the effective nuclear charge, for the electrons of the atom. the existence of electrons positioned between the nucleus and the energy level of the electron in question weakens the force of this attraction. the electrons located in the inner energy levels, between the electrons in the outer shells and the nucleus, block the force of the protons attraction; simply put, they get in the way. this phenomenon is known as electron shielding, and it reduces the hold of the protons on the outer electrons. the shielding effect increases when more energy levels are present in the atom. the repulsive forces between electrons in the same energy level have a similar shielding effect, although not as strong as that of the electrons in lower energy levels. atomic radius is a measure of the size of the atom, and for metals it is one-half the distance between two nuclei in a diatomic molecule. the atomic radius indicates the distance of the valence electrons from the nucleus. the hold on electrons located farther away from the nucleus is weaker, so the distance from the nucleus to the outside of the atom or the outer energy level plays an important role in determining chemical characteristics of an element. the periodic trend of atomic radii increases in a group from top to bottom. as one moves down the group, the elements at each step have one more energy level than the elements in the previous (higher) row, and, therefore, the atomic radius increases. one might expect the atomic radius of the elements to increase across a period as well, but that is not the casethe atomic radius decreases across a period. increasing the number of electrons in an outer energy level (as one moves from left to right across a period) does not increase the overall size of the atom. the elements across the period have more protons and electrons, and the addition of more protons gives the positively charged nucleus a stronger attractive force for the electrons in the outer energy level with the same relative amount of shielding from lower-energy-level electrons. those electrons are held more closely than the electrons of an element in an equivalent energy level and with fewer protons, explaining why the atomic radii decrease from left to right within a period. the ionic radius of an element is the radius of a cation or an anion. When an element gains an electron and becomes an anion, the radius of the anion is larger than that of the original atom. this is because the atom and ion have the same number of protons and, therefore, the same effective nuclear charge, but the ion now has one more electron that will increase the repulsion between the electrons and make the outer shell larger. When an element loses an electron and becomes a cation, the radius of the ion is smaller