School Science Lessons
2026-04-04

Periodic Table

Elements, Actinium to Zirconium
Contents
Ac Actinium
Al Aluminium
Am Americium
Sb Antimony
Ar Argon
As Arsenic
At Astatine
Ba Barium
Bk Berkelium
Be Beryllium
Bi Bismuth
Bh Bohrium
B Boron
Br Bromine
Cd Cadmium
C Carbon
Cs Caesium
Cf Californium
Ce Cerium
Cl Chlorine
Cr Chromium
Co Cobalt
Cn Copernicium
Cu Copper
Cm Curium
Ds Darmstadtium
Db Dubnium
Dy Dysprosium
Es Einsteinium
Er Erbium
Eu Europium
Fm Fermium
F Fluorine
Fr Francium
Gd Gadolinium
Ga Gallium
Ge Germanium
Au Gold
Hf Hafnium
Hs Hassium
He Helium
Ho Holmium
H Hydrogen
In Indium
I Iodine
Ir Iridium
Fe Iron
Kr Krypton
La Lanthanum
Lw Lawrencium
Pb Lead
Li Lithium
Lu Lutetium
Mg Magnesium
Mn Manganese
Mt Meitnerium
Md Mendelevium
Hg Mercury
Mo Molybdenum
Nd Neodymium
Ne Neon
Np Neptunium
Ni Nickel
Nb Niobium
N Nitrogen
No Nobelium
Os Osmium
O Oxygen
Pa Palladium
P Phosphorus
Pt Platinum
Pu Plutonium
Po Polonium
K Potassium
Pr Praseodymium
Pa Proactinium
Pm Promethium
Ra Radium
Rn Radon
Re Rhenium
Rh Rhodium
Rg Roentgenium
Rb Rubidium
Ru Ruthenium
Rf Rutherfordium
Sm Samarium
Sc Scandium
Sg Seaborgium
Se Selenium
Si Silicon
Ag Silver
Na Sodium
Sr Strontium
S Sulfur
Ta Tantalum
Tc Technetium
Te Tellurium
Tb Terbium
Tl Thallium
Th Thorium
Tm Thulium
Sn Tin
Ti Titanium
W Tungsten
U Uranium
V Vanadium
Xe Xenon
Yb Ytterbium
Y Yttrium
Zn Zinc
Zr Zirconium

Table 1. Periodic Table
See: Periodic table, An official website of the United States government
Terms applied to the Periodic Table:
Alkali metals, Group 1: 1.1.0
Alkaline earth metals, Group 2: 1.2.0
Common or industrial classification of metals: 1.3.0
Base metals: 1.3.1
Coinage metals: 1.3.2
Noble metals: 1.3.3
Precious metals: 1.3.4
Electronegativity: 1.4.0
Groups: 1.5.0
Halogens, Group 17: 12.0
Noble gases: 1.9.0
Introduction to the periodic table: 1.10.1
Patterns in the periodic table: 1.10.2
Periods: 1.11.0
Transition elements: 1.12.0
Transuranic elements have atomic number > 92

Table 1. Periodic table
G = Groups
P1 to P7 = Periods
P6a = Lanthanides
P7a = Actinides

01
H

02
He

P2
P2

03
Li

04
Be

05
B

06
C

07
N

08
O

09
F

10
Ne

P3
P3

11
Na

12
Mg

13
Al

14
Si

15
P

16
S

17
Cl

18
Ar

P4
P4

19
K

20
Ca

21
Sc

22
Ti

23
V

24
Cr

25
Mn

26
Fe

27
Co

28
Ni

29
Cu

30
Zn

31
Ga

32
Ge

33
As

34
Se

35
Br

36
Kr

P5
P5

37
Rb

38
Sr

39
Y

40
Zr

41
Nb

42
Mo

43
Tc

44
Ru

45
Rh

46
Pd

47
Ag

48
Cd

49
In

50
Sn

51
Sb

52
Te

53
I

54
Xe

P6
P6

55
Cs

56
Ba

71
Lu

72
Hf

73
Ta

74
W

75
Re

76
Os

77
Ir

78
Pt

79
Au

80
Hg

81
Tl

82
Pb

83
Bi

84
Po

85
At

86
Rn

P7
P7

87
Fr

88
Ra

103
Lw

104
Rf

105
Db

106
Sg

107
Bh

108
Hs

109
Mt

110
Ds

111
Rg

112
Cn

116
Lv

P6a
P6a

57
La

58
Ce

59
Pr

60
Nd

61
Pm

62
Sm

63
Eu

64
Gd

65
Tb

66
Dy

67
Ho

68
Er

69
Tm

70
Yb

71
Lu

P7a
P7a

89
Ac

90
Th

91
Pa

92
U

93
Np

94
Pu

95
Am

96
Cm

97
Bk

98
Cf

99
Es

100
Fm

101
Md

102
No

103
Lr

Group 1, Alkali metals
Alkali metals: Lithium, Li, Sodium, Na, Potassium, K, Rubidium, Rb, Caesium, Cs, Francium, Fr
Group 1 elements include the alkali metals, Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr.
The alkali metals are all soft, shiny and metallic when cut.
They react easily with water, have low melting points and densities, and are good conductors of electricity.
They all have one valence electron that they lose easily to form ions.
Hydrogen is considered separately, because it has few of the properties of the alkali metals.

1.2.0 Group 2, Alkaline earth metals
Group 2 elements are the alkaline earth metals, Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra.
They are harder and have higher melting points and boiling points than the alkali metals.
They easily lose two electrons to form ions, e.g. Mg 2+.

1.3.0 Common or industrial classification of metals
In the common or industrial classification of metals, the following descriptions of metals are not chemically exact terms:

1.3.1 Base metals
Base metals are neither noble nor precious, are not resistant to oxidation, are common and are readily available with many uses, including Aluminium, Copper, Lead, Nickel, Tin and Zinc.

1.3.2 Coinage metals
Coinage metals are copper, gold and silver, but this description of metals is not a chemically exact term.
Nordic Gold, a gold-coloured alloy, often used in coins, is made of 89% copper, 5% aluminium, 5% zinc, and 1% tin.

1.3.3 Noble metals
Noble metals are commonly only Gold and Silver, but also can refer to metallic chemical elements resistant to oxidation or corrosion, including: Ruthenium, Rhodium, Palladium, Silver, Rhenium, Osmium, Iridium, Platinum, and Gold, i.e. of the second and third transition series of the Periodic Table.

1.3.4 Precious metals
Precious metals are those usually used in jewellery including Gold, Iridium, Palladium, Platinum, and Silver.

1.4.0 Electronegativity
Electronegativity is based on the IUPAC electronegativity list
Electronegativity is the degree to which an atom attracts electrons.
Ignoring lanthanides and actinides, for two elements in different groups, the element in the higher numbered group has higher electronegativity.
For two elements within the same group, the element with the lower the atomic number has the higher electronegativity.
Hydrogen is less electronegative than polonium and more electronegative than nitrogen, so the formula of water is H2O and the formula of ammonia is NH3 .

List of highest to lowest electronegativity
Group 17, F to At
Group 16, O to Po
H, hydrogen,
Group 15, N to Bi
Group 14, C to Pb
Group 13, B to Tl
Group 12, Zn to Cn
Group 11, Cu to Rg
Group 10, Ni to Ds
Group 9, Co to Mt
Group 8, Fe to Hs
Group 7, Mn to Bh
Group 6, Cr to Sg
Group 5, V to Db
Group 4, Ti to Rf
Group 3, Sc to La
Lanthanides, La to Lu
Actinides, Ac to Lr
Group 2, Be to Ra
Group 1 (excluding H), Li to Fr
Group 18, He to Rn

1.5.0 Groups
Groups are the arrangement of elements in the periodic table.
Some periodic tables using 1a, 2a to 0, suggest there are 18 groups.
Other versions have only 8 or 9 groups.
Elements in the same group in the periodic table have similar chemical roperties, because they have the same number of electrons in their outer shells.
(This is not true if you group the transition elements together in the table.)
Groups are shown as vertical columns numbered 1 to 18, see top row.
The newest element is Copernicum, Cn, atomic number 112, discovered in 1996, but not given its symbol, Cn, by IUPAC until 2010.

1.6.0 Group 17
Halogens, At, Br, Cl, F, I
Group 17 elements are the halogens, F, Cl, Br, I, At.

1.7.0 Heavy elements
IUPAC has approved these new heavy elements, 114 Fl (Flerovium) and 116 Lv (Livermorium) (1 June 2012).

1.9.0 Noble gases
Group 18 elements are the noble gases (inert gases or rare gases) He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn-222.
They are colourless, odourless, monatomic gases and they form very few compounds.

1.10.0 Periodic table
1.10.1 Introduction to the periodic table
The periodic table organizes elements and it can be used to make predictions about the properties of elements.
The periodic table is an orderly way to arrange the properties of the elements.
The periodic table shows each element as a symbol with its atomic number atomic mass (whole number) electron notation and valence.
The groups have group notation numbers, 1 to 18, as approved by the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry).
The atomic number is shown above the symbol for each element.
It is equal to the number of protons in the nucleus.
The relative atomic mass is shown below the symbol for each element.
It is the average of the values for the different isotopes of the element.
The relative atomic mass of Carbon, C, is defined as Metallic properties are dominant towards the lower left corner and non-metallic properties are dominant towards the upper right corner.
Periods and groups for the first 20 elements: group (vertical), period (horizontal).
In the full periodic table, Groups 3 to 12 contain the transition elements including:
| 4th Period: Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn,
| 5th period: Mo, Ag, Cd, Sn | 6th period Pt, Au, Hg, Bi.

Table 12.19.10

Group	1	2	3	4	5	6	17	18
1st period	H	.	.	.	.	.	.	He
2nd period	Li	Be	B	C	N	O	F	Ne
3rd period	Na	Mg	Al	Si	P	S	Cl	Ar
4th period	K	Ca	.	.	.	.	.	.

Activity
1.10.2 Patterns in the periodic table
Use A4 size periodic charts for student use or a classroom size 2 000 ×1 500 mm periodic chart to find the following information and fill in a blank A4 size chart of the periodic table.
Commercial: Periodic table chart, A4 sheet, three colour, pad of 100 sheets
Commercial: Sargent-Welch three colour poster size, laminated chart with metal eyelets, double sided, in protective cardboard tube,
130 cm × 90 cm and 495 mm × 694 mm
1. Periods: The elements have electrons in the same outer shell, i.e. the rows.
2. Groups: The elements have the same number of electrons in their outer shells, i.e. the columns.
A group of elements has similar chemical properties.
3. Metals: Al and elements below and to left of Al and Sn, Pb (Sb, Bi) Po, but not H.
4. Non-metals: He, C, N, O, F, Ne, P, S, Cl, Ar, Se, Br, Kr, I, Xe, At, and Rn.
5. Metalloids: As, Ge, Si, Te (and Sb, Bi, B).
6. Elements that are gases at room temperature, 27 oC: H2, He, N2, O2, Ne, Cl2, Ar, Kr, Xe and Rn.
The elements that are liquids at room temperature are Hg and Br.

3. Periodic variations
Elements display periodic variations in their chemical and physical properties:
1. The trends across a period or down a group in the periodic table for properties, e.g. melting or boiling point, reactivity, ionization energy, atomic radius, metallic character, nature of oxides,
2. The terms used to describe groups and periods of the periodic table are alkali metals, alkali earth metals, halogens, noble gases, lanthanides and actinides,
3. The relationship between the number of valence electrons for an element, its position in the periodic table, and its chemical properties,
Metals usually have a few valences, but Bismuth, Lead and Tin have many valences.
4. The properties of an element, e.g. combining power, general reactivity, and relationship to its position in the periodic table,
5. Anomalies in the properties of an element, e.g. mercury, Hg, is liquid at room temperature.

1.11.0 Periods
Periods are shown as horizontal rows numbered 1 to 7, in italics, see far left column.
The elements in a period have electrons in the same outer shell.
Period 1: 1 H and 2 He
Period 2: 3 Li to 10 Ne
Period 3: 11 Na to 18 Ar
Note the important trends in the reactions of the Period 3 compounds from metals on the left to non-metals on the right e.g. reactions of the oxides and chlorides with water
Period 4: 19 K and 20 Ca, and 31 Ga to 36 Kr
Period 5: 37 Rb and 38 Sr, and 49 In to 54 Xe
Period 6: 55 Cs and 56 Ba, and 81 Ti to 86 Rn
Period 7: 87 Fr, 88 Ra, 89 Ac
Period 6a 57 La to 71 Lu (Lanthanides)
Period 7a 89 Ac to 103 Lr Actinides

1.12.0 Transition elements
Groups 3 to 12, periods 4 and 5
Period 4: | Scandium | Titanium | Vanadium | Chromium | Manganese | Iron | Cobalt | Nickel | Copper | Zinc |
Period 5: | Yttrium | Zirconium | Niobium | Molybdenum | Technetium Ruthenium | Rhodium | Palladium | Silver |
Transition metals (transition elements) have atomic numbers as follows:
Group 3 to Group 12
First transition series: 21 Sc to 30 Zn,
Second transition series: 39 Y to 48 Cd,
Third transition series 57 La to 80 Hg.
(Some chemists refer to Zn, Cd and Hg as metals, not transition metals.)
The transition elements are good conductors of heat and electricity, hard, strong, shiny, high mp and bp.
Only Hg is liquid at room temperature.
With these properties they are useful a pure substances, because of their relatively low chemical activity, e.g. Fe and Cu.
Transition metals have more than one oxidation states in their compounds, e.g. Cu (I) Cu 2 O, Cu (II) CuO, most are coloured, most are catalysts and many form complex ions, e.g. [Cu(H 2 O) 6 ] 2+, when copper sulfate dissolves in water.