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,