Chemistry 6.1

What are the three broad classes of elements?

metals, nonmetals, metalloids

metal

one of a class of elements that are good conductors of heat and electric current; metals tend to be ductile, malleable, and shiny

periodic law

when the elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number, there is a periodic repetition of their physical and chemical properties

Metalloid

A metalloid generally has properties that are similar to those of metals and nonmetals. Under some conditions, metalloids may behave like metals. Under other conditions, they may behave like nonmetals. The behavior can often be controlled by changing the conditions.

metals

A freshly cleaned or cut surface of a metal will have a high luster, or sheen. The sheen is caused by the metal's ability to reflect light. All metals are solids at room temperature, except for mercury (Hg). Many metals are ductile, meaning that they can be drawn into wires. Most metals are malleable, meaning that they can be hammered into thin sheets without breaking.

Mendeleev placed tellurium before iodine in his periodic table.

He assumed that the atomic masses for iodine and tellurium were incorrect, but they were not. •A similar problem occurred with other pairs of elements. •The problem wasn't with the atomic masses but with using atomic mass to organize the periodic table.

Mendeleev developed his table before scientists knew about the structure of atoms.

He didn't know that the atoms of each element contain a unique number of protons. •Recall that the number of protons is the atomic number.

Early chemists used the properties of elements to sort them into groups.

In 1829, a German chemist, J. W. Dobereiner, published a classification system. In his system, the known elements were grouped into triads. A triad is a set of three elements with similar properties. The elements shown here formed one triad. Chlorine, bromine, and iodine may look different, but they have very similar chemical properties

How did Mendeleev organize his periodic table?

In 1869, a Russian chemist and teacher, Dmitri Mendeleev, published a table of the elements. He wrote the properties of each element on a separate note card. This approach allowed him to move the cards around until he found an organization that worked.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is an organization that sets standards for chemistry.

In 1985, IUPAC proposed a new system for labeling groups in the periodic table. They numbered the groups from left to right 1 through 18 (the black labels).

How is the modern periodic table organized?

In a periodic table based on atomic mass, iodine should come before tellurium since iodine has a smaller atomic mass than tellurium does. •However, based on its chemical properties, iodine belongs in a group with bromine and chlorine.

Mendeleev arranged the elements in his periodic table in order of increasing atomic mass.

Mendeleev arranged elements with similar properties in the same row. Notice the two question marks between zinc (Zn) and arsenic (As). Mendeleev left these spaces in his table because he knew that bromine belonged with chlorine and iodine. He predicted that elements would be discovered to fill those spaces, and he predicted what their properties would be based on their location in the table.

Three classes of elements are metals, nonmetals, and metalloids

Across a period, the properties of elements become less metallic and more nonmetallic.

Dobereiner noted a pattern in his triads. One element in each triad tended to have properties with values that fell midway between those of the other two elements

For example, the average of the atomic masses of chlorine and iodine is [(35.453 + 126.90)/2], or 81.18 amu. This value is close to the atomic mass of bromine, which is 79.904 amu.

There are seven rows, or periods, in the table

Each period corresponds to a principal energy level. There are more elements in higher-numbered periods because there are more orbitals in higher energy levels.

The organization he chose was a periodic table.

Elements in a periodic table are arranged into groups based on a set of repeating properties.

When elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number, there is a periodic repetition of their physical and chemical properties.

Elements that have similar chemical and physical properties end up in the same column in the periodic table.

Are elements with similar properties found in the rows (periods) or columns (groups) of the modern periodic table?

Elements with similar properties are found in the columns, or groups, of the modern periodic table.

Why was it important for scientists to find a logical way to organize the elements?

Finding a logical way to organize the elements made it possible for scientists to determine how many elements they were looking for.

Why was Mendeleev's periodic table an improvement over Dobereiner's triad classification system and other earlier systems?

Mendeleev's periodic table could encompass all known elements and accurately predicted the existence and properties of undiscovered elements.

Electrons and the Structure of Atoms

Periodic tables may contain each element's name, symbol, atomic number, and atomic mass.

Each column, or group, in this table has three labels.

Scientists in the United States primarily use the labels shown in red. Scientists in Europe use the labels shown in blue.

Dividing the elements into groups is not the only way to classify them based on their properties.

The elements can be grouped into three broad classes based on their general properties

The properties of the elements within a period change as you move across a period from left to right.

The pattern of properties within a period repeats as you move from one period to the next. The pattern of properties within a period repeats as you move from one period to the next. •This pattern gives rise to the periodic law: When elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number, there is a periodic repetition of their physical and chemical properties.

Is there more variety of properties among metals or among nonmetals?

The properties of metals are more constant. There is more variety among the properties of nonmetals

Nonmetals

The variation among nonmetals makes it difficult to describe one set of general properties that will apply to all nonmetals. A diamond, which is composed of carbon, is very hard. Some match heads are coated with phosphorus, a brittle solid.

Nonmetals

There is a greater variation in physical properties among nonmetals than among metals. Most nonmetals are gases at room temperature, including the main components of air—nitrogen and oxygen. A few are solids, such as sulfur and phosphorus. One nonmetal, bromine, is a dark-red liquid

Metalloids

There is a heavy stair-step line that separates the metals from the nonmetals Most of the elements that border this line are shaded green. These elements are metalloids.

The elements between zinc and arsenic were gallium and germanium, which were discovered in 1875 and 1886, respectively.

There was a close match between the predicted properties and the actual properties of these elements. This match helped convince scientists that Mendeleev's periodic table was a powerful tool.

A few elements, including copper, silver, and gold, have been known for thousands of years.

There were only 13 elements identified by the year 1700. Chemists suspected that other elements existed. As chemists began to use scientific methods to search for elements, the rate of discovery increased. In one decade (1765-1775), chemists discovered five new elements.

All of the known elements are listed in the periodic table. What are different ways you could use the periodic table to classify elements?

You can use the periodic table to classify elements by their atomic weight, by their chemical properties, by their physical properties, or by their electron configuration.

nonmetal

an element that tends to be a poor conductor of heat and electric current; nonmetals generally have properties opposite to those of metals

metalloid

an element that tends to have properties that are similar to those of metals and nonmetals

Metals

are generally good conductors of heat and electric current. Copper is second only to silver as a conductor of electric current. The copper used in electrical cables must be 99.99 percent pure