Marie discovers boxes of elements in a storage room. The boxes do not say which elements they contain, but they do have information about their locations on the periodic table. What kind of information would allow Marie to determine which boxes contain the most reactive elements?
The elements in a Periodic Table are grouped according to their classifications. The major classifications are Metals, Non-metals, and Metalloids. Their level of reactivity can be gauged by simply looking at their position in the table. For Metals, their reactivity increases as you move to the left then going down. Non-metal reactivity increases as you move to the right then going up, starting at the bottom of the table.
The reactivity of metals increases as you move left in a period and as you move down in a group, so Marie needs to know the period and group of the element inside each box. Boxes that show locations in groups 1 or 2 or in period 7 contain the most reactive elements.
SAMPLE RESPONSE: The reactivity of metals increases as you move left in a period and as you move down in a group, so Marie needs to know the period and group of the element inside each box. Boxes that show locations in groups 1 or 2 or in period 7 contain the most reactive elements.
To determine which boxes contain the most reactive elements, Marie would need to look for information related to the reactivity trend on the periodic table. Reactivity generally increases as you move from right to left across a period and from top to bottom within a group on the periodic table.
Here are a few pieces of information that Marie can use:
1. Group number: The group number indicates the number of valence electrons an element has. Elements in Group 1 (also known as the alkali metals) and Group 17 (also known as the halogens) tend to be highly reactive. Therefore, if any boxes are labeled with elements from these groups, they are likely to contain the most reactive elements.
2. Period number: The period number corresponds to the energy level of the valence electrons. Generally, elements in higher periods are less reactive than those in lower periods. However, reactivity can still vary within a period, so this information may not be as useful as the group number.
3. Metal vs. Non-metal: Metals generally have lower reactivity compared to non-metals. So if a box contains an element that is labeled as a metal, it is less likely to be highly reactive.
By examining the group number and the type of element (metal or non-metal), Marie can narrow down which boxes are likely to contain the most reactive elements. However, without more specific information, it may not be possible to precisely determine the reactivity of each element in the boxes.
From Internet:
Group 1 is the most reactive and contains the most reactive elements. The group 1 elements are placed in the vertical column on the left hand side of the periodic table. Lithium, sodium and potassium are the three group 1 elements you are likely to see at school.