Families/Groups and Periods on The Periodic Table

The periodic table is organized in two different ways: groups and periods. The groups are the vertical columns on the table while the periods are the horizontal rows on the table. The elements in these groups and periods share certain things. Elements in the same group share chemical and physical properties. They also share the number of valence electrons. The periods share the same amount of energy levels / electron shells. Ex: Period one has one electron shell and period two has two electron shells.

The 9 Different Group Names

Group 1: Alkali Metals

Group 2: Alkaline Earth Metals

Group 3-12: Transition Metals

Group 13: Boron Family

Group 14: Carbon Family

Group 15: Nitrogen Family

Group 16: Oxygen Family

Group 17: Halogens

Group 18: Noble / Inert Gases

Protons and why They are Important

Protons are positively charged subatomic particles found in the nucleus of an atom. Protons play a huge role when it comes to the placement of the elements. First of all protons decide what the element is. Each element has a unique amount of protons. The protons classify the elements. The number of protons also dictate the number of electrons because an element has to have the same number of electrons and protons for it to not be an ion. The number of electrons decide where the element is located on the periodic table. The number of electrons decides how many energy shells an element has, using the Rule of Octets. An element can't have another shell until the previous one is filled up. This means that the electrons decide how many energy shells there are which in turn decides the period that an element is in. The electron shells dictate what period an element is in. Ex: The elements in period one have one electron shell and the elements in period two have two electron shells.

Protons and why They are Important Part Two

Protons also dictate what group the element belongs in. Since protons dictate the number of electrons in an atom it in turn dictates the group the element is in. The groups are divided by how many valence electrons there are in an atom. The number of valence electrons are decided by how many electrons there are. You can figure out the number of valence electrons by using the Rule of Octets. Elements in the same group have the same number of valence electrons, so that means the number of valence electrons will determine what group it will be in. So basically the number of protons decide the number of electrons, the number of electrons decide the number of valence electrons, and the number of valence electrons affect the group an element is in. That is how the protons determine the placement of elements in an element.

Metals

There are many metals on the periodic table of elements. While they can vary in some ways most of them share a few things in common. Most metals are lustrous, conductors of heat and electricity, malleable, hard, ductile, and solid in normal conditions. There are a few exceptions to these like mercury (which is in a liquid state in normal conditions), but most metals share these physical properties. A chemical property of most metals are that they have an electropositive character. This means that the tend to lose electrons when going through chemical reactions. Everything on the left side till the staircase are metals except hydrogen, germanium, and antimony (Some other metals that I've counted as metals may be considered as metalloids). The Lanthanide and Actinide series are also metals.

Nonmetals

There are a good amount of nonmetals on the periodic table of elements. Like metals, most of them share similar properties, but there are some outliers. Most nonmetals are either gases or solids at room temperature (bromine is a liquid at room temperature), non-malleable, non-ductile, brittle, poor conductors, and non-lustrous. A chemical property of nonmetals is that they are electronegative in character. They like gain electrons in chemical reactions and become anions. Everything on the right side of the staircase plus hydrogen are nonmetals except boron, silicon, arsenic, and tellurium (Some other nonmetals that I've counted as nonmetals may be considered as metalloids).

Metalloids

There are the least amount of metalloids when compared to metals and nonmetals. Metalloids are the in between of metals and nonmetals. They look like metals, but behave like nonmetals. Metalloids are shiny like metals, but they have low elasticity and are brittle like nonmetals. Metalloids are also semiconductors. They are okay at conducting heat and electricity. Chemically they act most like nonmetals. They are weakly acidic and have electronegativity levels close to 2. Metalloids can form alloys when combined with metals. Metalloids are located next to the staircase (see picture for further clarification).

Valence Electrons

Valence electrons play a huge role in the placement of an atom on the periodic table. The periodic table is grouped into family and periods. The valence electrons in an element determine what family the element is in. The elements that go in the families on the periodic table are determined by the number of valence electrons an element has. All the elements in a family have the same number of valence electrons. This means that the valence electrons determine what family the element belongs in. This is important to the placement of elements.

Valence Electrons Cont.

Valence electrons also determine the elements reactivity. If the element has a full valence electron shell that means it can't be reactive due to it not being able to take on any more electrons. If there are empty spaces on a valence electron shell, that means it can react with other elements because it can fill for their valence electron shell. A good trick to determine how reactive an element is just by using the periodic table is: the outermost groups of the periodic are the most reactive and it gets less reactive as you go towards the center of the periodic table. (This excludes group 18 as it is non-reactive. It starts with group 17 and group 1). Ex: Group 1 and 17 are the most reactive and group 2 and 16 are less reactive. You can also tell how well an element reacts with each other by using periodic table. The groups on the opposite side tend to react quickly with each other. (Once again group 18 is excluded from this). Ex: Group 1 and 17 react quickly with each other and groups 2 and 16 react quickly with each other. That is how valence electrons determine reactivity.

Alkali Metals 

The alkali metals are found in group 1 of the periodic table. The alkali metals are pretty soft metals. (They can be cut with a knife). They also have relatively low melting points. Their densities are also relatively low. They are grayish in color.

The alkali metals are very reactive due to them only having one valence electron. They are also electropositive.

The elements of the Alkali Metals family are: hydrogen, lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium. (Hydrogen is a part of the Alkali metals even though it isn't a metal because it is an electron donor.)

Lithium is used in batteries. We use batteries to power things around the house. Sodium is used in table salt in the form of sodium chloride. We use salt to season our food to make it taste better. Potassium is used in certain fertilizers. Cesium is used in radiation detection equipment.

Alkaline Earth Metals 

The alkaline earth metals are found in group 2 of the periodic table. Alkaline earth metals are shiny on the outside and silvery-white in color. Alkaline earth metals also have relatively low melting and boiling points. Their density is also relatively low. They are much like the alkali metals.

The alkaline earth are somewhat reactive because they have two electrons. They are usually ready to lose both of their valence electrons. The alkaline earth metals have 2 valence electrons.

The elements in the alkaline earth metals family are: beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, and radium. Magnesium is used in fireworks because it burns brightly. It makes the fireworks light up the sky. Magnesium is also used to create alloys that are used to create things like airplanes. Calcium is used in cement to make it set faster. This allows sidewalks to be built faster. Strontium is also used in fireworks to create a brilliant red. Strontium can also be used to make glow in the dark paint. Beryllium is mostly used to create alloys to increase thermal and electrical conductivity.

Transition Metals

The transition metals are found in groups 3-12 on the periodic table. Transition metals are the metals that everyone thinks of when they think of metals. Most are good conductors of heat and electricity. Most are ductile and malleable. Most have high melting points (Mercury is a liquid at room temperature). They are usually hard, tough, and have relatively high densities. 

Transition metals are much less reactive when compared to alkali metals. They tend to react much slower. Many transition metals are used as catalysts.

There are many transition metals, but here are a few: gold, silver, molybdenum, platinum, iron, nickel and copper.

Iron is a transition metal and it is used everywhere. Iron is used to make steel which we use in many different ways from pans to knives. We also use iron in cooking ware like cast iron skillets. Nickel is used to make rechargeable batteries which we use in so many ways like laptops. Gold is used in electronics to create things like CPU pins. Gold can also be used as a food garnish for high end dishes. Gold is also used in jewelry. 

Boron Family

The boron family is found in group 13 of the periodic table. The boron family blaze in oxygen at high temperatures. Boron has a high melting point. All of the elements are solids at room temperature. Boron is a metalloid while all the other elements are metals. They are also conductors of heat and electricity. The boron family elements have varying properties so here are a few of the physical ones. Indium has a lesser nuclear radius than Thallium because of the lanthanide compression. As you move down the group, the acidic nature of hydroxides reduces. Boric acid is an extremely delicate monobasic acid. The boron family is pretty reactive. Their oxides break down in weakened acids. All the neutral compounds of the boron family are electron lacking and act like Lewis acids. The boron family elements have 3 valence electrons. The elements in the boron family are: boron, aluminum, gallium, indium, thallium, and nihonium. Boron is used as a medicine that helps build strong bones. Aluminum is used very heavily in everyday life. It is very prevalent in construction due to it being lightweight and its strong resistance to corrosion. Gallium is mainly used in creating LEDs and electronic circuits. Indium is used to make mirrors and low melting alloys.