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Student Exploration: Periodic Trends

Vocabulary: atomic radius, electron affinity, electron cloud, energy level, group, ion, ionization energy, metal,
nonmetal, nucleus, period, periodic trends, picometer, valence electron
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. On the image at right, the two magnets are the same. Which paper
clip would be harder to remove?

2. Which magnet would be most likely to attract additional paper clips?

3. What is the relationship between the thickness of the book and the ability of the magnet to hold on to and
attract paper clips?

The ticker the book is the easier it is for the magnet to attract the paper clip.

Gizmo Warm-up
Just as the thickness of a book changes how strongly a magnet attracts a paper clip, the
size of an atom determines how strongly the nucleus attracts electrons. In the Periodic
Trends Gizmo, you will explore this relationship and how it affects the properties of
different elements.

The atomic radius is a measure of the size of the electron cloud, or the region where
electrons can be found. To begin, check that H (hydrogen) is selected in Group 1 on the
left. Turn on Show ruler. To measure the radius, drag one end of the ruler to the proton in the nucleus and the
other end to the electron. Click Save radius to record the value.

1. What is the radius of hydrogen? 53 pm

Notice that the radius is measured in picometers (pm). A picometer is one

2. On the right side of the Gizmo, select Li. Connect the right side of the ruler to 167 pm
the outermost electron, or valence electron. What is the radius of lithium?

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 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
Atomic radius ● Check that Atomic radius is selected from the
drop-down menu.

Question: What factors affect the radius of an atom?

The atoms would get bigger.

2. Collect data: Use the ruler to measure the atomic radii of the group 1 elements. As you do so, count the
energy levels (shown as rings of electrons) in each atom. Record in the table.

Element H Li Na K Rb Cs
Number of energy levels 1 2 3 4 5 6
Atomic radius (pm) 53 167 190 243 265 298

3. Observe: What happens to the radius as you move down group 1?

It increase

4. Explore: Turn off Show ruler. Select Li, and then select Be. Observe the radii of the elements in group 2.
Then look at other groups. What pattern do you see?

The radius increases every time you move down a group.

5. Draw a conclusion: In general, what is the effect of the number of energy levels on the radius of an atom?

As the energy levels increase the radius also increases.

6. Predict: How do you think the radius of an atom will change as you move across a period (horizontal row)
in the periodic table?

It decreases every time a period is passed.

7. Collect data: Beginning with Na, record the number of energy levels, number of protons, and atomic radius
for each element in period 3.

Element Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
Number of energy levels 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Number of protons 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Atomic radius (pm) 190 145 118 111 98 88 79 71

8. Observe: What happens to the radius as you move across a period?

It tends to decreases

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 Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready:

Removing and ● Choose Ionization energy from the drop-down

Question: How does the radius of an atom affect the ability of the protons in the nucleus to hold on to
and attract electrons?

1. Predict: Ionization energy (IE) is the energy required to remove an electron from an atom. As atomic
radius increases, the valence electrons get farther from the nucleus. How do you think an atom’s size will
affect its ability to hold on to its valence electrons? Why?

The larger the atom and the radius are the less IE will be.

2. Investigate: Select H. In the Gizmo, the hydrogen atom is shown next to a positive charge. As you move
the atom to the right, the force of attraction between the positive charge and the valence electron will
increase until the electron is removed.

Slowly drag the atom towards the charge. After the electron is removed, use the ruler to measure the
distance between the original and the final position of the electron. Record the distance and ionization
energy in the table, then repeat for the other group 1 elements.

Element H Li Na K Rb Cs Fr
Distance (no
268 392 397 414 417 423 422
units)
Ionization
energy 1312 520 496 419 403 376 380
(kJ/mol)

3. Analyze: What trend do you notice?

IE usually decreases down a group.

4. Investigate: Gather data for ionization energy across a period. Record in the table below.

Element Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
Distance (no
397 345 379 335 286 289 235 177
units)
Ionization
496 738 578 787 1012 1000 1251 1521
energy (kJ/mol)

5. Analyze: What trend do you notice?

IE usually increases across a period.

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