Science Periodic Table Vocabulary

corrosion

destruction of metal by rusting or slowly reacting to air ex. metal

Carbon family

each element has atoms that can gain lose or share 14 electrons when reacting with other metals, only carbon is a nonmetal

synthetic elements

elements with an atomic number higher than 92, made or synthesized when nuclear particles are forced to crash into one another ex. plutonium and americium

nitrogen family

group 15 the nitrogen family contains two no metals nitrogen and phosphorus, these non metals usually gain or share three electrons when reacting with other elements

the oxygen family

group 16, has three non metals oxygen suffer and selenium, these elements usually gain or share two electrons when reacting with other elements

alkali metals

group one of the metals, from lithium to francium, they react with other with other metals by losing one electron. very reactive never found in pure forms ex. sodium, potassium, and lithium

alkaline earth metals

group two of the periodic table, hard, grey-white metals, good conductors of electricity, react by loosing two electrons, not as reactive as first group but still reactive, never found uncombined in nature. ex. calcium and magnesium

transition metals

name for the elements in groups 3-12, most of them are hard and shiny, good conductors of electricity, less reactive then metals in groups one and two ex. copper, iron, nickel, silver and gold

Semiconductors

Are substances that can conduct electricity under some conditions but not under other conditions, Some examples are they are used to make computer chips transistors and lasers

halogens

Group 17, means salt forming, mostly nonmetals, very reactive, examples are fluoride chlorine bromine iodine astatine

Noble gases

Group 18, very unreactive, don't usually form compounds, don't usually gain lose share electrons, examples are helium neon argon xenon

Metal loins

Have some characteristics of metals and nonmetals, border between metals and nonmetals, all solid at room temperature, our brittle hard and somewhat reactive, The most useful property of the metalloids is a very ability to conduct electricity, some can some cant depends on temperature exposure to light or presence of small amounts of impurities, some are semiconductors, examples are silicone, arsenic, germanium,

metals in mixed groups

some o the elements in groups 13-15 are metals, not as reactive as elements on the left side of the table ex. aluminum and lead

malleable

a material that can be hammered or rolled into flat sheets and other shapes ex. copper

ductile

a material that can be pulled out, or drawn into long wire. ex. copper

alloy

a mixture of a metal with at least one other element, usually another metal

diatomic molecule

a molecule consists of two atoms

conductivity

ability of an object to transfer heat and electricity to another object

nonmetal

an element that lacks most of the properties of a metal, poor conductors of electricity and heat, and are reactive with others elements. solid non metals are dull and brittle

reactivity of metals

tends to decrease as you move from left to right across the periodic table.

actinides

the bottom row of the two rows of elements placed below the main part of the periodic table, only a few naturally occur on earth, others are synthetically made, ex. actinium, thorium, protactinium, and uranium all naturally occur on earth

reactivity

the ease or speed with which an element combines, or reacts, with other elements and compounds. ex. salt is highly reactive, gold and platinum are not

metal

the physical properties include shininess, malleability, ductility, and conductivity. ex. iron, copper, gold, silver

lanthanides

the top row of the two rows of elements placed below the main part of the periodic table, soft, malleable, shiny metals with high conductivity, difficult to separate from one another-very similar properties, usually found in alloys

triatomic

three atom molecule

particle accelerators

used to make heavier elements with atomic numbers above 95, powerful machines that that move atomic nuclei faster and faster until they have reached very high speeds, then they crash into the nuclei of other elements with enough energy, the particles can combine into one single nucleus ex. curium was the first element made by doing this

Hydrogen

Alone in upper left corner, 1 proton 1 neutron, cannot be grouped in a family because the chemical properties of hydrogen differ very much from those of the other elements,