ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE AND

PERIODICITY

1. The electron configuration and the

periodic table.
2. Periodic variation in atomic properties.
 LC #1. Explain the periodic recurrence of
similar properties among elements in the
periodic table in terms of electronic structure.
 The Periodic Table
• A very useful device in understanding,
organizing, and predicting the behavior of all
the known elements.
• A systematic arrangement of elements
illustrating the periodic law. This law states
that, “The physical and chemical
characteristics of the elements are periodic
functions of their atomic numbers.”
 What properties of elements can be known
from the Periodic Table?
• STABILITY OF ATOMS
- Is associated with certain electron
configurations in an atom.
- It has been observed that
1. An atom with completely filled levels is quite
stable.
Ex. 2He – 1s2
10Ne – 1s2
2s2
2p6
• Helium ha sonly one principal energy level
which consists of one sublevel made up of
only one orbital that is filled to the maximum
(two electrons)
• Ne has the s ad p sublevels and orbitals in its
two principal levels (1 and 2) also filled to the
maximum that an orbital can hold. Thus they
are considered stable.
2. An atom with eight electrons in the outermost
level has special stability. This accounts for the
octet rule for stability, based on the observation
of Group 8 (Group 16 elements).
Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe and Rn
3. An atom having a fully filled or half-filled
sublevel is also more stable than other
arrangements.
Ex. 24Cr - 1s2 2s2 2p63s2 3p64s2 3d4
• MAGNETIC PROPERTY
• Paramagnetism – elements made up of atoms
with unpaired electrons, that is, they are
attracted to magnetic fields.
Examples:
Number of unpaired electrons
8 O - 1s 2
2s2
2p4 2

11Na - 1s2
2s2
2p 6
3s1 1

29Cr - 1s 2
2s 2
2p6
3s2
3p6
4s2
3d9 1
* These are permanent micromagnets that are
attracted to and align with a magnetic field, just like
the magnetic needle of a compass. The attraction of
isolated atoms in magnetic fields is related to the
number of unpaired electrons they have.
• Diamagnetism – elements consisting of atoms
without unpaired electrons.
- They are weakly repelled or are not affected by
magnetic fields.
Ex. 2He - 1s2
12Mg – Mg - 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2
12
• METALS, NONMETALS, METALLOIDS

Properties
Metals Nonmetals
Luster – mirror-ke shine that reflects Lack luster
light well
Conductivity – the ability to transfer Poor conductivity
heat and electricity well
Malleability – the ability to be rolled brittle
or hammered into thin sheets
Ductility – the ability to be drawn into
wire
 Exercise: It’s the Class
• Classify the following elements as metals,
nonmetals or metalloids:
1. Potassium 6. iodine
2. Phosphorous 7. tellurium
3. Sulfur 8. molybdenum
4. Antimony 9. germanium
5. Aluminum 10. silicon
 LC #2: Relate the number of valence
electrons of elements to their group
number in the periodic table
• Exercise: Find out the valence electrons of the
given elements:
1. Potassium 6. iodine
2. Phosphorous 7. tellurium
3. Sulfur 8. molybdenum
4. Antimony 9. germanium
5. Aluminum 10. silicon
LC # 3: Compare the properties of families of
elements.
• ARRANGEMENT OF ELEMENTS IN THE
PERIODIC TABLE
 PERIODS AND GROUPS IN THE PERIODIC
TABLE
• PERIODS – The horizontal row in the periodic table
- There are 7 periods indicated by numbers 1-7
- The period number refers to the number of principal
energy levels in the atoms of each element in the period
- There are 2, 8, 8, 18, 18, and 32 elements in the first six
periods. The 7th period is not complete.
- Elements in the same period have the same number
occupied principal energy levels
- Ex. Na and Cl are both in period 3, thus their valence
electron is 3
• GROUPS – Columns of elements
• 2 ways for numbering the groups
1. IUPAC notation
 Family
• is a set of elements sharing common properties

• 5 Element Families
• alkali metals
• alkaline earth metals
• transition metals
• halogens
• noble gases
 Recognizing Families on the Periodic Table

• Columns of the periodic table typically mark groups or families.

Three systems have been used to number families and groups: The
older IUPAC system used Roman numerals together with letters to
distinguish between the left (A) and right (B) side of the periodic
table.
• The CAS system used letter to differentiate main group (A) and
transition (B) elements.
• The modern IUPAC system uses Arabic numbers 1-18, simply
numbering the columns of the periodic table from left to right.
• Many periodic tables include both Roman and Arabic numbers.
The Arabic numbering system is the most widely accepted method
used today.
 9 Element Families

• Alkali Metals - Group 1 (IA) - 1 valence electron

• Alkaline Earth Metals - Group 2 (IIA) - 2 valence electrons
• Transition Metals - Groups 3-12 - d and f block metals have 2 valence
electrons
• Boron Group or Earth Metals - Group 13 (IIIA) - 3 valence electrons
• Carbon Group or Tetrels - Group 14 (IVA) - 4 valence electrons
• Nitrogen Group or Pnictogens - Group 15 (VA) - 5 valence electrons
• Oxygen Group or Chalcogens - Group 16 (VIA) - 6 valence electrons
• Halogens - Group 17 (VIIA) - 7 valence electrons
• Noble Gases - Group 18 (VIIIA) - 8 valence electrons
 Alkali Metals or Group 1 Family of Elements

• The alkali metals are recognized as a group and family of

elements. These elements are metals.Group 1 or IA
• Alkali Metals
• 1 valence electron
• soft metallic solids
• shiny, lustrous
• high thermal and electrical conductivities
• low densities, increasing with atomic mass
• relatively low melting points, decreasing with atomic mass
• vigorous exothermic reaction with water to produce hydrogen
gas and an alkali metal hydroxide solution
 Alkaline Earth Metals or Group 2 Family of
Elements
• The alkaline earth metals or simply alkaline earths are
recognized as an important group and family of elements.
These elements are metals.Group 2 or IIA
• Alkaline Earth Metals (Alkaline Earths)
• 2 valence electrons
• metallic solids, harder than the alkali metals
• shiny, lustrous, oxidize easily
• high thermal and electrical conductivities
• more dense than the alkali metals
• higher melting points than alkali metals
 Transition Metals Element Family

• The largest family of elements consist of transition

metals.Groups 3-12
• Transition Metals or Transition Elements
• The d and f block metals have 2 valence electrons
• hard metallic solids
• shiny, lustrous
• high thermal and electrical conductivities
• dense
• high melting points
• These large atoms exhibit a range of oxidation states.
 Boron Group or Earth Metal Family of Elements

• The boron group or earth metal family is not

as well-known as some of the other element
families.Group 13 or IIIA
• Boron Group or Earth Metals
• 3 valence electrons
• diverse properties, intermediate between
those of metals and nonmetals
• best known member of this group is aluminum
 Carbon Group or Tetrels Family of Elements

• The carbon group is made up of elements called

tetrels, which refers to their ability to carry a
charge of 4.Group 14 or IVA
• Carbon Group or Tetrels
• 4 valence electrons
• diverse properties, intermediate between those
of metals and nonmetals
• best known member of this group is carbon,
which commonly forms 4 bonds
Nitrogen Group or Pnictogens Family of Elements

• The pnictogens or nitrogen group is a

significant element family.Group 15 or VA
• Nitrogen Group or Pnictogens
• 5 valence electrons
• diverse properties, intermediate between
those of metals and nonmetals
• best known member of this group is nitrogen
 Oxygen Group or Chalcogens Family of Elements

• The chalcogens family is also known as the

oxygen group.Group 16 or VIA
• Oxygen Group or Chalcogens
• 6 valence electrons
• diverse properties, changing from nonmetallic
to metallic as you move down the family
• best known member of this group is oxygen
 Halogen Family of Elements

• The halogen family is a group of reactive nonmetals.Group 17

or VIIA
• Halogens
• 7 valence electrons
• reactive nonmetals
• melting points and boiling points increase with increasing
atomic number
• high electron affinities
• change state as move down the family, with fluorine and
chlorine existing as gases at room temperature while bromine
in a liquid and iodine is a solid
 Noble Gas Element Family

• The noble gases are a family of nonreactive

nonmetals.Group 18 or VIIIA
• Noble Gases or Inert Gases
• 8 valence electrons
• typically exist as monoatomic gases, although
these elements do (rarely) form compounds
• stable electron octet makes these elements
unreactive under ordinary circumstances
 Tips To Memorize the Periodic Table

• Break down the table into sections to memorize it. You could memorize
elements groups (different color groups), go one row at a time, or memorize in
sets of 20 elements. Rather than attempting to memorize all of the elements
act once, learn one group at a time, master that group, and then learn the next
group until you know the whole table.
• Space out the memorization process and usse free time to learn the
table. You'll remember the table much better if you spread out the
memorization process over multiple sessions instead of cramming the entire
table at once. Cramming might serve for short-term memorization, like for a
test the very next day, but you won't remember anything a few days later. To
truly commit the periodic table to memory, you need to access the part of your
brain responsible for long term memory. This involves repeated practice and
exposure. So, learn a section of the table, go off an do something else, write
out what you learned in that first section and try to learn a new section, walk
away, come back and review old material, add a new group, walk away, etc.
• Learn the elements in a song. This works well if you're better hearing
information than seeing it on paper. You can make up your own song or
learn one someone else made. A good example is Tom Lehrer's The
Elements, which you can find on YouTube and other places online.
• Break up the table into nonsense words made from element
symbols. This is another great way to learn the order of the elements if you
do well 'hearing' over 'seeing'. For the first 36 elements, for example, you
might use the chain of words HHeLiBeB (hihelibeb), CNOFNe
(cannofunny) . NaMgAlSi, PSClAr etc. Make up your own pronunciations
and practice filling in a blank table with the symbols.
• Use color to learn element groups. If you need to learn the element
groups in addition to element symbols and names, practice writing the
elements using different colored pencils or markers for each element
group.
• Use a mnemonic device to help remember the order of the
elements. Make a phrase you can remember using the first letters or
symbols of the elements. For example, for the first nine elements, you
might use:
 Happy Hector Likes Beer But Could 
Not Obtain Food

• H - hydrogen
• He - helium
• Li - lithium
• Be - beryllium
• B - boron
• C - carbon
• N - nitrogen
• O - oxygen
• F - fluorine
 TRENDS IN ATOMIC PROPERTIES IN THE
PERIODIC TABLE
1. Atomic Radius Definition
• The atomic radius is a term used to describe the size of theatom,
but there is no standard definition for this value. Atomic radius
may refer to the ionic radius, covalent radius, metallic radius, or
van der Waals radius.
• In all cases, the size of the atom is dependent on how far out the
electrons extend. The atomic radius for an element tends to
increase as one goes down an element group. The electrons
become more tightly packed as you move across the 
periodic table, so while there are more electrons for elements of
increasing atomic number, the atomic radius actually may
decrease.
 2. Ionization Energy
• The ionization energy, or ionization potential, is the energy required
to completely remove an electron from a gaseous atom or ion. The
closer and more tightly bound an electron is to the nucleus, the more
difficult it will be to remove, and the higher its ionization energy will
be. The first ionization energy is the energy required to remove one
electron from the parent atom. The secondionization energy is the
energy required to remove a second valence electron from the
univalent ion to form the divalent ion, and so on. 
Successive ionization energies increase. The second ionization energy
is always greater than the first ionization energy. Ionization energies
increase moving from left to right across a period (decreasing atomic
radius). Ionization energy decreases moving down a group (increasing
atomic radius). Group I elements have low ionization energiesbecause
the loss of an electron forms a stable octet.
 3. Electron Affinity

• Electron affinity reflects the ability of an atom to accept an electron. It is

the energy change that occurs when an electron is added to a gaseous
atom. Atoms with stronger effective nuclear charge have greater electron
affinity. Some generalizations can be made about the electron affinities of
certain groups in the periodic table. The Group IIA elements, 
the alkaline earths, have low electron affinity values. These elements are
relatively stable because they have filled s subshells. Group VIIA
elements, the halogens, have high electron affinities because the addition
of an electron to an atom results in a completely filled shell. Group VIII
elements, noble gases, have electron affinities near zero, since each atom
possesses a stable octet and will not accept an electron readily.Elements
of other groups have low electron affinities.
• In a period, the halogen will have the highest electron affinity, 
while the noble gas will have the lowest electron affinity. Electron affinity
decreases moving down a group because a new electron would be further
from the nucleus of a large atom.
 4. Electronegativity

• Electronegativity is a measure of the attraction of an atom for the

electrons in a chemical bond. The higher the electronegativity of an
atom, the greater its attraction for bonding electrons.
Electronegativity is related to ionization energy. Electrons with low
ionization energies have low electronegativities because their nuclei
do not exert a strong attractive force on electrons. Elements with
high ionization energies have high electronegativities due to the
strong pull exerted on electrons by the nucleus. In a group, the
electronegativity decreases as atomic number increases, as a result
of increased distance between the valence electron and nucleus (
greater atomic radius). An example of an electropositive (i.e., low
electronegativity) element is cesium; an example of a highly 
electronegative element is fluorine.
 Summary of Periodic Properties of Elements

• Moving Left → Right

• Atomic Radius Decreases
• Ionization Energy Increases
• Electron Affinity Generally Increases (except Noble Gas Electron
Affinity Near Zero)
• Electronegativity Increases
• Moving Top → Bottom
• Atomic Radius Increases
• Ionization Energy Decreases
• Electron Affinity Generally Decreases Moving Down a Group
• Electronegativity Decreases
• http://
chemistry.about.com/od/periodictableelemen
ts/ss/How-To-Memorize-the-Periodic-Table.ht
m#step2
• http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemicalbond
ing/fl/Why-Do-Atoms-Bond.htm