THE PERIODIC TABLE OF

ELEMENTS
From the time of the ancient Greeks up
to 1700, only 14 elements were known.
Then, in a short span of ten years, 1800
to 1810, more elements were discovered.
By 1830, 45 elements were known.
Chemistry had come a long away from the
days of the Greeks, who thought that only four
elements existed. But as new elements were
discovered, chemists probably began to feel
insecure. All these elements had different
properties, and there didn’t seem to be any
relationship among them. To answer this
question, they had to find some relationship
among the known elements.
The periodic table is the most useful tool in
organizing both physical and chemical
properties of the elements known to date.
Since ancient time, several observations and
laws were conducted and proposed in order
to properly arrange the elements in the
periodic table. Here are some laws
governing the discovery of the periodic table.
Law of Triads
The first chemist to notice some order among
the elements was the German scientist Johann
Wolfgang Dobereiner. He published an account
of his observations in 1829. It occurred to
Dobereiner that bromine had chemical and
physical properties somewhere between those
of chlorine and iodine, and that bromine’s
atomic weight was almost midway between
those of chlorine and iodine.
 Elements Atomic Weight Average Atomic Weight
Chlorine 35.5
Bromine 79.9 81.2

Iodine 126.9

Sulfur 32.1
Selenium 79.0 79.8

Tellurium 127.6

Calcium 40
Strontium 87.6 88.7

Barium 137.3
Law of Octaves
In 1864 and 1865, an English chemist published a series
of papers that described his attempt at classifying the
elements. John Newland listed the 62 elements in order
of increasing atomic weight with similar physical and
chemical properties at intervals of eight. He notes that
after interval of eight elements with similar physical and
chemical properties reappeared. He was the first to
formulate the concept of periodicity in the properties of
chemical elements.
H 1 F 8 Cl 15 Co/Ni 22 Br 29 Pd 36 I 43 Pt/Lr 50
Li 2 Na 9 K 16 Cu 23 Rb 30 Ag 37 Cs 44 Tl 51
Gl 3 Mg 10 Ca 17 Zn 24 Sr 31 Cd 38 Ba/V 45 Pb 52
Bo 4 Al 11 Cr 18 Y 25 Ce/La 32 U 39 Ta 46 Th 53
C 5 Si 12 Ti 19 In 26 Zr 33 Sn 40 W 47 Hg 54
N 7 P 13 Mn 20 As 27 Di/Mo 34 Sb 41 Nb 48 Bi 55
O 8 S 14 Fe 21 Be 28 Ro/Ru 35 Te 42 Au 49 Os 56
The pattern was perfect up to Calcium (17) it
became less convincing as some metals
appeared unlike the non-metals to their left. At
that time only 62 elements were known,
fortunately the discovered elements have
higher atomic masses. Also Newlands was
forced to sometimes put two elements in the
same box so that after this similar elements
would be in the same horizontal line.
Periodic Law
In 1869, a Russian chemistry professor, Dimitri Ivanovich
Mendeleev proposed arranging elements by atomic
weights and properties. A year later, 1870, a German
chemist, Julius Lothar Meyer reached the same
conclusion. They both constructed their tables in similar
manner, this is listing the elements in a raw or column in
order of increasing atomic weight and starting a new row
or column when the characteristics of the element began
to repeat.
In 1871, Mendeleev revised the 17 group table
with eight columns. The table shows on entire
network of similarities along the vertical,
horizontal and diagonal directions.
Because of the success of Mendeleev’s table
he came from two decisions: to leave gaps in
the table when it seemed that the
corresponding element had not yet been
discovered: and to occasionally ignore the
order of atomic weights and switch adjacent
elements to better classify them to chemical
families.
The Inert Gases
In 1895, Lord Rayleigh discovered Argon, a new
gaseous element that does not fit any of the known
periodic groups. William Ramsey followed by
discovering the remainder of the inert gases and
putting them in the periodic table. By 1990, the
periodic table was almost up to finish with elements
arranged by atomic weight. The first inert gas
compound was made in 1962 – Xenon tetraflouride
and numerous compounds have followed. The group is
now called the noble gases.
Periodic Law
Jeffrey Moseley, conceptualized the Moseley’s
Law which justified many concepts in chemistry.
The arrangement done by Moseley wherein
elements are arranged according to increasing
atomic numbers and not by atomic masses, he
was able to eliminate the inconsistencies with
Mendeleev’s table.
The properties of the element are a periodic
function of their atomic numbers.
ARRANGEMENT OF THE
PERIODIC TABLE
The periodic table of today is similar to
Mendeleev’s; however, many new elements
have been discovered since 1869. Today’s
table consists of horizontal rows called periods
and a number of vertical columns called
groups (or families).
 The Parts of the
Modern Periodic Table
Periods
There are seven horizontal rows in the
periodic table. Each row is called a period.
For a given electron configuration of an
element, the highest main energy level
occupied by electron/s corresponds to the
period number the element belongs.
Groups
There are eighteen (18) vertical columns in the
periodic table and divided into A groups and B
groups. Each column is called a group or
family. Elements within a group show similar
chemical properties. The number of electrons in
the highest main (outermost) energy level
determines the chemical characteristics of the
element.
 Groups and their Traditional Names
Group/Family Name
IA Alkali metals (except H)
IIA Alkaline Earth Metals
IIIA Boron Family
IVA Carbon Family
VA Nitrogen Family
VIA Oxygen Family
VIIA Halogen Family
VIIIA Noble Gases/Inert Gases
IB-VIIIB Transition Metals
The Different Types of Elements
in the Periodic Table
Representative Elements

Refers to the A sub-group or Group

IA to VIIA. These are elements
whose electrons occupy the s or the
p orbitals.
Noble Gases

Are the last group in the periodic table. The

members of this group are the elements having
completely filled s and p orbitals. This means that the
outermost shell of this element consists of eight
electrons (with the exception of helium). This is what
we call a stable configuration. These elements have
little tendency to react with another substances that
is why they were originally called the inert gases.
Transition Elements

Refers to the B sub-group. These are group of

elements in which a set of d orbitals is being
filled up.
Inner Transition Elements

Are the two series of elements from 58 – 71

and 90 – 103, in which a set of f orbitals is
being filled up.
Blocks

The blocks of the periodic table

correspond to the filling up of
sublevels by the electrons added
according to the building-up
principle.
 GROUPS OR FAMILIES

PERIOD s-block p-block

d-block

f-block
Periodicity

There are four important atomic properties that

mostly influence the determination of chemical
behaviour of elements. There are atomic size,
ionization energy, electron affinity and
electronegativity. Each property has its own
periodicity or periodic trend in the periodic
table, which is primarily attributed to the
valence electron of the elements.
Atomic Size
Atomic radius is considered as the distance from the
centre of the nucleus to the outermost electron. Atomic
radius is measured with a unit called angstrom (A).
Each atom has a nucleus inside which is surrounded by
electron. The size of t he atoms depends on how far
away its outermost electrons from the nucleus. The
farther the nucleus from the electrons on the outermost
shell, the larger the atom will be. If they are very close to
the nucleus, the atom will be small.
Within the period, from left to right, atomic size
decreases. The increase in the number of
electrons in the same energy level increases
attraction. It increases the nuclear charge
which is positive and electrons are drawn into
it that is why the size of the atom decreases.
Within the group, from the top to bottom,
atomic size increases. The increase in the
energy level of electrons increases the atomic
size. Although the nuclear charge increases,
the energy levels increases as well so the
attraction of electron is less with the nucleus
that is why the atomic size increases.
Ionic Size
An ion is a charged. It has either lost or gained an electron.
When an atom loses an electron it becomes positive, while it
is gains on electron, it became negative.
When a metal loses an electron, there is a decrease in size.
The atom attains a positive charge (cation) and the electrons
are held closer to the nucleus thus a decrease in size.
When a non-metal gains an electron, there is an increase in
size. The atom attains a negative charge (anion) and the
increase is due to the repulsion of the electrons.
Metallic Properties

Within the period, metallic property decreases

from left to right, while within the group, metallic
property decreases from top to bottom. Metals
are located at group 1A and IIA which is at the
left side of the periodic table. Non-metals are on
the right side of the table groups VIIA and the
noble gases.
Ionization Energy

Ionization energy is the energy required to remove the outermost

electron from the atom. If the ionization energy is high. It means
that is needs more energy to remove the outermost electron from
the atom. If the ionization energy is high, it means that is needs
more energy to remove the outermost electron.
The three factors that affect ionization energy are: nuclear
charge; number of energy levels, and shielding.
Within the period, ionization energy increases
from left to tright.
Within the group, ionizationi energy decreases
from top to bottom.
The ionization energy determines the
tendency of losing and gaining an electron.
The less ionization energy of the atom, the
easier it is to lose and electron. When an
atom has high ionization energy; it means
there is greater attraction between the nucleus
and the electrons, an increase in nuclear
charge. The tendency is to gain an electron
rather, than to lose one.
Electron Affinity
Electron affinity is the ability of an atom to
accept an electron. It is the amount of energy
released by an electron when the electron
joins or attached to an isolated atom. Stronger
effective nuclear charge has greater electron
affinity. It is also a measure of the attraction
between an electron and the nucleus of an
atom.
Within the period from left to right, electron affinity
increases. The attraction between the nucleus and
the electron becomes greater because there is a
decrease in size. Thus, more energy is released
when electron in added to the outermost shell.
Within the group from top to bottom, electron affinity
decreases. The size increases and the attraction
between the nucleus and electrons decreases.
Therefore, not much energy is releases when an
electron is added.
Electronegativity

The electronegativity of an atom is defined as the

general tendency of that atom to attract electrons toward
itself in a compound. This is determined from the
ionization energies and electron affinities. It is not an
energy measurement, however, but simple a general
tendency for atoms to attract electrons. By looking at the
periodic table, you can see that electronegativity
increases as you can go across a period and
electronegativity decreases as you go down a group.
VALENCE ELECTRON AND OXIDATION NUMBER

 Valencyor valency number is a measure of the number

of chemical bonds formed by the atoms of a given
elements. To be able to know the number of bonds
formed one must know the number of electrons on the
outermost shell of an atom. These electrons are
termed as Valence Electrons, these corresponds to an
element’s electron configuration and its outermost
number of electrons. This determines how atoms react
chemically with other atoms.
 Valence electrons have the ability to absorb or
release energy in the form of photons. This gain or
loss of energy can trigger an electron to jump to
another shell or even break free from the atom and
its shell. When an electron absorbs energy it
moves to the next outer shell depending on the
amount of energy, when an electron loses energy
on the other hand. It move to a more inner shell.
 The group number of an element determines the
number of electron on its outermost shell. So,
elements in Group 1A has one electron in the
outmost shell, in Group IIIA has three electrons and
so on.
 Lewis dot diagrams or Electron dot diagrams are
diagrams that show the bonding between atoms of
a molecule and the lone pairs of electron that may
exist in a molecule. The dots represent the
electrons of an atom and during bonding it is either
shared or transferred depending on the types of
bond formed.
OXIDATION NUMBER
 Represents the charge that an atom would have if
electrons were transferred completely to the atom
with the greater attraction for them in a given
situation. These oxidation numbers can be used to
predict the ratio by which atoms will combine when
they form compounds. It is either positive or
negative value.
 GUIDELINES IN ASSIGNING
OXIDATION NUMBER

1. The oxidation number of an element in the free or

uncombined state is always zero.
2. The algebraic sum of the oxidation numbers of all the
atoms in the formula of a compound is equal to zero.
3. The algebraic sum of all the oxidation number of the
atom in polyatomic ion is equal to the charge of the ion.
4. Some oxidation numbers are:

Group IA - always +1
Group IIA – always +2
Hydrogen – always +1 except in hydrates where it is -1
Oxygen – always -2 except in peroxides where is it -1
Group VIIA – always -1
Al is +3
Zn is +2