GROUP 7 ELEMENTS

1. (a) Complete the table below.

Atomic state, colour at Melting Boiling

Symbol Electron
number Element room temperature point oC point oC
arrangement
9 Fluorine F pale yellow gas -220 -188
17 Cl
35 Br ends in .7
53 I ends in .7
85 Astatine At black solid 302 337 ends in .7

(b) What is the colour trend down the group?

(c) What is the colour of the vapour (gas) formed on heating (i) bromine, (ii) iodine?

2. (a) What properties in the table are typical of non-metals?

(b) Suggest some other properties the halogens might have compared to metals eg
strength of solid, heat and electrical conduction?

3. (a) What is the group trend in melting and boiling point down the group with
increase in atomic number?

(b) how does the trend affect their physical state as you go down the group with
increase in atomic number?

4. The molecules consist of diatomic molecules. What does this mean?

5. (a) What sort of compounds do they form when combined with metals?

eg sodium chloride NaCl (note (i) the metal keeps its name BUT chlorine becomes
chloride, (ii) bromine becomes bromide and iodine becomes iodide in compounds)

(b) What is the charge on the halide ion? Quote the symbol of the ion from chlorine.

HT only Can you explain why its that particular charge?

6. What sort of compounds do they form when combined with non-metals? eg

hydrogen chloride HCl
ANSWERS
o Q1 (a) fluorine, 2.7; chlorine, green gas, -102oC, -34oC, 2.8.7;
bromine, dark red liquid, -7oC, 59oC; iodine, dark/black solid, 114oC,
184oC
 (b) gets darker down the group
 (c) on heating: bromine gives orange-brown vapour, iodine
gives a brilliant purple vapour
o Q2(a) exist as gas, liquid or solid with low melting/boiling points
 (b) weak when solid, poor conductors of heat and electricity
o Q3(a) melting/boiling points increase down the group
 (b) change from gas ==> liquid ==> solid
o Q4 The exist as X2 molecules, 2 X atoms per molecule, where X = F, Cl,
Br, I or At
o Q5(a) form ionic compounds with metals
 (b) Cl- single minus, because it gains one extra negative
electron more than the number of positive protons, to be
electronically stable like a noble gas (from Cl [2.8.7] to Cl -
[2.8.8]-)
o Q6 With non-metals they form covalent compounds
o Q7 Chlorine: turns damp blue litmus red before bleaching it white;
iodine gives a dark blue-black colour with starch solution
1. Which halogen is used for treating domestic water supplies and swimming pool
water? What does it do?

2. Find out four cases where chlorine is changed to another useful compound or
material, and briefly describe the uses of them.

3. Find out two uses of hydrogen gas in the manufacture of other products.

4. Find out three products that use sodium hydroxide in their manufacture

5. (a) Which compounds of the halogens are used for photographic film?

(b) What sorts of radiation affect the film?

(c) What is formed from the silver salt when it is hit by the radiation?

6. (a) What is formed on combining chlorine and hydrogen? and describe the
product.

(b) What does it form when dissolved in water? and what pH will the solution have?

(c) What sort of chemical is it? and what sort of chemicals react with the solution
and what sort of compounds are formed?

(d) What would you expect to form if you combined (i) hydrogen and bromine?, (ii)
hydrogen and iodine?

(e) What physical and chemical properties might you expect them to have? Just
quote a few ideas based on?!
o ANSWERS
o Q1 Chlorine is a powerful disinfectant and kills most all bacteria.

o Q2 Uses of chlorine: PVC plastic manufacture, chlorinated

hydrocarbons (organo-chlorine compounds) are used as solvents,
pesticides and disinfectants like TCP (trichlorophenol). It is combined
with hydrogen to make hydrogen chloride which is dissolved in water
to manufacture hydrochloric acid. Chlorine is used in the manufacture
of household bleach, industrial bleaches for cotton, linen, wood pulp
and domestic cleaners.
o Q3 Hydrogen is used in the hydrogenation of unsaturated vegetable
oils to make 'solid' margarine. It is combined with chlorine to form
hydrogen chloride which is dissolved in water to make hydrochloric
acid.
o Q4 Sodium hydroxide is used in oven cleaners and drain cleaners.
detergents, soaps, and making sodium salts from acids including
soluble aspirin since aspirin is an insoluble organic acid.
o Q5a Silver salts are used in photographic film e.g. silver chloride,
silver bromide and silver iodide.
o Q5b/c They are chemically changed by visible light (and ultra-violet
and X-rays too) to form silver.
o Q6a hydrogen + chlorine ==> hydrogen chloride, which is a
colourless acidic gas.
o Q6b When dissolved in water hydrochloric acid is formed and the
solution has a pH of about 1.
o Q6c It is a strong acid and reacts with alkalis to form chloride salts.
o Q6d Hydrogen bromide and hydrogen iodide.
o Q6e They will be like hydrogen chloride (Group 7 connection -
Periodic Table pattern) i.e. colourless acidic gases that will dissolve in
water to form acids. These acids will be neutralised by alkalis to form
bromide or iodide salts.
What you do is add a solution of the halogen in water to the potassium salts of the
other halogens, also dissolved in water. If a displacement reaction occurs the
solution gets darker (eg more yellow, orange or brown). It also shows whether one
halogen is more reactive than another. Note your observations in the table below.

Potassium Potassium Potassium Water blank (fair

halogen\salt
chloride bromide iodide test check)
chlorine water
(pale green no change
solution)
bromine water
(orange no change
solution)
iodine water
no change (but
(very dark
complicated by
solution of
the formation
iodine
of the very
dissolved in
darkly
potassium
coloured I3-
iodide
ion)
solution)

1. (a) complete the table of results above, either from doing the experiment or
working it out from your knowledge of halogen chemistry.

(b) What do you think the purpose of the water blank is?

2. (a) Which halogens does chlorine displace?

(b) Which halogens does bromine displace?

(c) Which halogens does iodine displace?

3. (a) What is the reactivity rule for displacement reactions?

(b) From your observations in 2., what is the reactivity trend for chlorine, bromine
and iodine?

(c) From (b) what is the Group trend rule for chemical reactivity down the group
with increase in atomic number?
(d) How does their reactivity compare to Noble Gases? Why the difference?

4. From your observations in 2. write word and symbol equations for the other
displacement reactions that happened.

e.g. chlorine + potassium bromide ==> potassium chloride + bromine

Cl2(aq) + KBr(aq) ==> KCl(aq) + Br2(aq) (not balanced!)

ANSWERS

Q1a Observations of mixing halogen solutions with halide salt solutions.

Potassium Potassium Potassium Water blank (fair

halogen\salt
chloride bromide iodide test check)
dark colour
very pale green
chlorine water and maybe a
solution - no orange colour very pale green
(pale green black
real colour - change! solution
solution) precipitate -
change
change!
dark colour
pale orange to pale orange to
bromine water and maybe a
yellow solution yellow solution pale orange to
(orange black
- no real colour - no real colour yellow solution
solution) precipitate -
change change
change!
no change (but
paler dark paler dark
complicated by
iodine water coloured coloured
the formation paler dark
(very dark solution - no solution - no
of the darkly coloured solution
solution) real colour real colour
coloured I3-
change change
ion)
o Q1b The blanks is to see if there is any colour change due to a reaction, other
than the colour observed of chlorine, bromine or iodine solution on dilution.
If there is a displacement reaction, a 'darker' colour is observed.
o Q2a Chlorine displaces bromine and iodine. Q2b Bromine displaces iodine.
Q2c Iodine does not displace anything here.
o Q3a A more reactive element will displaces a less reactive element. This
rule applies to a series of non-metals like halogens, or a series of metals.
o Q3b The most reactive will displace the most number of other elements,
therefore the reactivity trend for the Group 7 Halogens, from most to least
reactive is chlorine > bromine > iodine
o Q3c The above trend means that Group 7 Halogens get less reactive down the
group with increasing atomic number.
o Q3d Group 0 Noble Gases have full sub-shells of electrons (e.g. 2.8 or 2.8.8)
and therefore are electronically very stable and reluctant to undergo
chemical reactions. On the other hand, Group 7 Halogen atoms have one
electron short of a Noble Gas electron arrangement (e.g. 2.7 or 2.8.7). These
atoms do their best to gain an eighth electron to complete the outer sub-shell
either by gaining an electron (ionic bond) or sharing an electron pair
(covalent bond). This energetic desire to get that 8th outer electron makes
these elements very reactive.
o Q4 The displacement equations are:
 chlorine + potassium iodide ===> potassium chloride + iodine
 Cl2(aq) + 2KI(aq) ===> 2KCl(aq) + I2(aq) (balanced)
 and ....
 bromine + potassium iodide ===> potassium bromide + iodine
 Br2(aq) + 2KI(aq) ===> 2KBr(aq) + I2(aq) (balanced)