ELEM ENT S AND CO M PO UNDS

Melting points
G The melting point i sthe poi nt at
whi ch the soli d and liquid phase of a
substance i si n equi li bri um at a gi ven
pressure.
G I n a solid, the parti clesare held i n a
ri gi d structure by the strong forcesof
attracti on that exi st between them.
They vi brate but cannot move
posi ti on. When a soli d i sheated to i ts
melti ng poi nt, the parti clesgai n
suffi ci ent energy to overcome these
forcesof attracti on, and the parti cles
are able to move posi ti on.
G Wi thi n groupsof metalli c elements,
the melti ng poi nt decreasesdown the
group. The converse i strue for non-
metals, where the melti ng poi nt
i ncreasesdown the group.
G Readi ng acrossperiods2 and 3, the
elementsfollow a pattern of metalli c
structure, gi ant covalent structure, and
si mple covalent structure. The melti ng
poi nt i ncreasesunti l a maxi mum i s
reached wi th the element that exi stsas
a gi ant covalent structure.
G The more reacti ve metalsi n group 1
are soft and have low melti ng poi nts.
Transition metals( elementsthat have
an i ncomplete i nner electron
structure) are generally harder and
have hi gher melti ng poi nts.
G The noble gasesexi st assi ngle atoms
wi th only weak forcesof attracti on
between them. Consequently, thei r
melti ng poi ntsare verylow.
G Usi ng the fi rst si x peri odsmi nusthe
lanthanide series, the di agram
hi ghli ghtsthe element wi th the
hi ghest melti ng poi nt i n a peri od.
E le m e n ts wh o se m e lti n g p o i n ts
a re th e g re a te st i n th e i r p e ri o d
C C a rb o n
S i S i li c o n
V V a n a d i u m
M o M o ly b d e n u m
W T u n g ste n
Melting points of the
elements C
group
group 1
lanthanide series
liquid
melting point
noble gases
period
solid
transition metals
Key words
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