Development of the Periodic Table

Scientists try to find patterns and order, so that they can understand the rules that create these patterns and so that they can make predictions about what has not yet been discovered or proved. Early chemists sought to order the elements they knew about, seeking for patterns or principles that would allow them to answer questions such as: - how do we know if wed discovered all the elements ? - what properties will not-yet-discovered elements have ? One of the first attempts was by Dalton, who ordered the elements then discovered by their atomic weights. Disadvantage: While this was a useful step, it did not show any patterns that would allow predictions to be made. Dobereiner subsequently took a different approach, grouping together elements with similar properties in groups of three (triads). When he did this he found that the middle element in each triad had an atomic weight that was the average of the first and third element in the triad so a pattern of sorts had been found. Discredited because: Lots of exceptions many elements didnt fit neatly into triads, including newly discovered ones.

Daltons list Dobereiners Triads

Newlands ordered the elements then known by atomic weight, but also noticed that repeating patterns of properties occurred every 8 elements (hence Law of Octaves). He was the first to suggest an arrangement that was based on weights but that identified elements with related properties. It worked for some elements, and you should notice that Dobereiners triads match the columns of Newlands table. Discredited because: there were no gaps for elements which hadnt been discovered yet, some boxes had two elements in e.g. Co, Ni. Some columns (groups) had elements with very different properties e.g. Fe and S. Mendeleev took a similar approach, ordering elements by atomic weight and starting a new row when needed so that the properties matched up in each column. He left gaps where necessary to get the properties to match, and sometimes reversed the atomic weight order where needed to keep the properties matched. Some scientists didnt like his table because: some believed all the elements had been discovered and didnt like leaving gaps, while others disputed that the properties really matched e.g. Mendeleev had K and Ag in the same group. His approach worked, as the gaps (for not-yetdiscovered elements) were duly filled and the new elements found to have the properties Mendeleevs table predicted they should.

The modern Periodic Table

It is called a periodic table because similar properties occur at regular intervals. Mendeleevs approach was robust enough to cope when Ramsay discovered a whole new group of elements the Noble Gases. There were accommodated by adding a whole new column to Mendeleevs table. The discovery of subatomic particles (electrons, protons and neutrons) in the early 20th century showed how correct Mendeleev had been, and provided the basis for the current arrangement of the periodic table.

The elements were ordered by atomic number (proton number) rather than atomic weight. When this was done, it could be seen that the elements Mendeleev swapped around to get their properties to match were now in the correct order.
The modern periodic table reflects the electronic structure of the atoms, with a new row (period) for each electron shell: - Group number = number of outer shell electrons - Period number = number of occupied electron shells As a result all elements are now in appropriate groups (columns), with similar chemical properties which arise because they have the same number of outer shell electrons.

Group 1: The Alkali Metals

Physical properties Group 1 metals are unusual metals - some of their physical properties are different to typical metals: Group 1 metals are soft can be cut with a knife. They get softer going down the group. They become dull soon after being cut, as they react with oxygen in the air rapidly to form alkali metal oxides They have low density lithium, sodium and potassium float on water They have low melting points sodium and potassium melt from the heat generated when reacting with water. Melting points decrease going down the group.

Lithium Sodium Potassium Rubidium Caesium

Li Na K Rb Cs

Chemical properties The group 1 metals are very reactive !

They are normally stored under oil. The oil acts as a barrier preventing them from reacting with oxygen in the air, or with water.

Li Na K Rb Cs

Increasing reactivity as we go down the group

Reactions of the alkali metals

Reaction with water Group 1 metals react with water to produce an alkaline solution. Hydrogen gas is given off and a solution of the metal hydroxide is left behind. Group 1 metal hydroxides are strong alkalis. Its an exothermic reaction . e.g. 2 K(s) + 2 H2O(l) 2 KOH(aq) + H2(g)
potassium + water

potassium hydroxide + hydrogen

Reaction with non-metals e.g. halogens (Group 7) The Group 1 metals react with non-metals by transferring an electron to form a positively charged metal ion and a negatively charged nonmetal ion. These form an ionic compound. The Group 1 metals react exothermically with the non-metals halogens (Group 7) to make metal halides: e.g. 2 Na(s) + Cl2(g) 2 NaCl(s)
sodium + chlorine sodium chloride

Ionic compounds containing Group 1 metals are typically white solids, and dissolve in water to produce colourless solutions.

Explaining the order of reactivity in Group 1

Group 1 atoms react by losing their outer shell electron to form a positively charged metal ion. The more easily they can lose the electron, the more reactive they are. The electrons in an atom are negatively charged, so attracted to the positively-charged nucleus. As we go down the group the outer-shell electron gets further away from the nucleus and so it is less strongly attracted. This means that as we go down the group the outer shell electron gets easier to remove and so the elements get more reactive.

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Group 7: The Halogens

The halogen elements consist of molecules made up of pairs of atoms e.g. chlorine is Cl2(g). This does NOT mean that compounds containing halogens always have two halogen atoms ! e.g. NaCl, AlBr3, PCl5 etc. Physical properties These elements are non-metals, having coloured vapours. Down the group: - the colour gets more intense - the density increases - the melting and boiling points increase Chemical properties Halogens get less reactive going down the group (opposite trend to Group 1 metals). This is because halogen atoms gain one electron to complete their outer shell when they react. The further away from the nucleus the outer shell is, the harder it is for the positively charged nucleus to attract an electron from another atom to complete the outer shell. Thus the halogens get less reactive as we go down the group, since there are more shells and the outer shell is further from the nucleus.

Reactions of the halogens

1) Halogens react with metals to form salts which are called metal halides [halide = fluoride, chloride, bromide etc.] In these reactions, the halogen atoms each gain one electron from the metal atoms, so the metal atoms become positively charged metal ions and the halogens become negatively charged halide ions with a 1- charge. e.g. 2 Na(s) + Cl2(g) 2 NaCl(s)

sodium + chlorine sodium chloride

2 Al(s) + 3 Br2(l)
iron

2 AlBr3(s)

+ bromine iron(III) bromide

2) Halogens react with other non-metals to form covalently-bonded compounds In these reactions the halogen atom and the atom it is bonding with each contribute one electron to the shared pair which forms a covalent bond between them. The products have simple molecular structure. e.g.
+ bromine 1,2-dibromoethane

ethene

This is how the well-known test for alkenes works the orange bromine water is decolourised because the bromine reacts with the carbon atoms of the C=C double bond.

3) More reactive halogens react with the halides of less reactive halogens We have met displacement reactions before, where a more reactive metal (or carbon) has displaced a less reactive metal from one of its compounds. The same principle applies here. A more reactive halogen (one further up the group) can react with the halide ions of a less reactive halogen to steal the electron that is completing the halide ions outer shell. When this happens the more reactive halogen becomes a halide ion, leaving atoms of the less reactive halogen to bond with each other and form molecules.
A more reactive halogen can displace a less reactive halogen from an aqueous solution of its halide salt: Cl2 displaces Br2 from KBr Cl2 displaces I2 from KI Br2 cannot displace Cl2 from KCl Br2 displaces I2 from KI I2 cannot displace Cl2 from KCl I2 cannot displace Br2 from KBr

Reacts?

e.g. When chlorine water (a solution of chlorine in water) is added to a colourless solution of potassium bromide, the solution turns orange-brown as bromine is formed:
chlorine + potassium bromide bromine

Cl2(aq)

+ 2 KBr(aq)

Br2(aq) +

2 KCl(aq)

+ potassium chloride

When orange bromine water is added to colourless potassium iodide solution, a brown colouration is seen due to the formation of iodine in the solution: Br2(aq) + 2 KI(aq) I2(aq) + 2 KBr(aq) bromine + potassium iodide iodine + potassium bromide

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The Transition Elements

The transition elements are a block of metals located between Group 2 and Group 3
Physical properties The elements in this whole block of the periodic table have similar properties (which you may realise suggests that they all have the same number of outer shell electrons but thats a story for A-level). The transition elements are typical metals: Compared with the elements in Group 1, transition elements: - have higher melting points (except for Hg) - have higher densities - are stronger and harder

Chemical properties Compared with the elements in Group 1, transition elements are much less reactive. Many transition metals only react slowly with oxygen in the air. Others dont react with oxygen at all, remaining shiny.
iron rusts slowly, reacting with oxygen and water ancient gold objects remain shiny chromium plating allows metallic objects to remain shiny

E.g. copper reacts very slowly with oxygen in the air to form a thin layer of copper oxide copper + oxygen copper oxide 2 Cu(s) + O2(g) 2 CuO(s)

Copper doesnt react with water at all which is why it is good for making water pipes.

Transition metals also have some SPECIAL properties:

1: COLOURED COMPOUNDS Unlike compounds containing Group 1 or Group 2 elements, compounds containing transition elements are often coloured.

2: IONS WITH DIFFERENT CHARGES Transition metal atoms can lose different numbers of electrons to form different positively charged metal ions. We distinguish between these in chemical names by using a number in roman numerals: e.g. iron can lose 2 electrons to form Fe2+ ions, as in iron(II) hydroxide, or iron can lose 3 electrons to form Fe3+ ions, as in iron(III) hydroxide Their different colours show they are clearly different chemical substances. 3: CATALYSTS Transition metals and their compounds are useful as catalysts. e.g Ni in the hydrogenation of vegetable oils to make margarines

Fe in the Haber Process N2 + 3H2 2NH3

Pt, Rh, & Pd in car exhaust catalytic converters

iron(III) hydroxide, iron(II) hydroxide, Fe(OH)2 Fe(OH)3