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Atomic Theory and Structure

The Periodic Table of Elements

BY ANTHONY CARPI, PH.D.

Table of contents 

Arrangement of the modern periodic table

Electron con guration and the table
Electron con guration shorthand

Terms you should know 

con guration : the way parts are arranged; referring to how electrons are distributed in orbitals, or
electron shells, around the nucleus of an atom

element : a pure chemical substance that is made on only one kind of atom
group : a column of elements in the periodic table

period : a row of elements in the periodic table

In 1869, the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev rst proposed that the chemical elements
exhibited a "periodicity of properties." Mendeleev had tried to organize the chemical elements
according to their atomic weights , assuming that the properties of the elements would
gradually change as atomic weight increased. What he found, however, was that the chemical
and physical properties of the elements increased gradually and then suddenly changed at
distinct steps, or periods . To account for these repeating trends, Mendeleev grouped the
elements in a table that had both rows and columns.

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The Periodic Table of Elements

Arrangement of the modern periodic table

The modern periodic table of elements is based on Mendeleev's observations ; however,

instead of being organized by atomic weight , the modern table is arranged by atomic number
(z). As one moves from left to right in a row of the periodic table, the properties of the elements
gradually change. At the end of each row, a drastic shift occurs in chemical properties. The next
element in order of atomic number is more similar (chemically speaking) to the rst element in
the row above it; thus a new row begins on the table.

For example, oxygen (O), uorine (F), and neon (Ne) (z = 8, 9 and 10,respectively) all are stable
nonmetals that are gases at room temperature. Sodium (Na, z = 11), however, is a silver metal
that is solid at room temperature, much like the element lithium (z = 3). Thus sodium begins a
new row in the periodic table and is placed directly beneath lithium, highlighting their chemical
similarities.

Rows in the periodic table are called periods . As one moves from left to right in a given period,
the chemical properties of the elements slowly change. Columns in the periodic table are called
groups . Elements in a given group in the periodic table share many similar chemical and
physical properties.
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Comprehension Checkpoint

Why does sodium appear directly below lithium in the periodic table?

a. Sodium comes after lithium alphabetically.

b. Sodium is similar to lithium in terms of chemical properties.

Electron con guration and the table

The "periodic" nature of chemical properties that Mendeleev had discovered is related to the
electron con guration of the atoms of the elements . In other words, the way in which an
atom's electrons are arranged around its nucleus a ects the properties of the atom.

Niels Bohr's theory of the atom tells us that electrons are not located randomly around an
atom's nucleus , but they occur in speci c electron shells (see our Atomic Theory II module for
more information). Each shell has a limited capacity for electrons. As lower shells are lled,
additional electrons reside in more-distant shells.

The capacity of the rst electron shell is two electrons and for the second shell the capacity is
eight. Thus, in our example discussed above, oxygen, with eight protons and eight electrons,
carries two electrons in its rst shell and six in its second shell. Fluorine, with nine electrons,
carries two in its rst shell and seven in the second. Neon, with ten electrons, carries two in the
rst and eight in the second. Because the number of electrons in the second shell increases, we
can begin to imagine why the chemical properties gradually change as we move from oxygen to
uorine to neon.

Sodium has eleven electrons . Two t in its rst shell, but remember that the second shell can
only carry eight electrons. Sodium's eleventh electron cannot t into either its rst or its second
shell. This electron takes up residence in yet another orbit, a third electron shell in sodium. The
reason that there is a dramatic shift in chemical properties when moving from neon to sodium
is because there is a dramatic shift in electron con guration between the two elements . But
why is sodium similar to lithium? Let's look at the electron con gurations of these elements.

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Electron Con gurations for Selected Elements

As you can see in the illustration, while sodium has three electron shells and lithium two, the
characteristic they share in common is that they both have only one electron in their outermost
electron shell . These outer-shell electrons (called valence electrons) are important in
determining the chemical properties of the elements .

An element 's chemical properties are determined by the way in which its atoms interact with
other atoms. If we picture the outer (valence) electron shell of an atom as a sphere
encompassing everything inside, then it is only the valence shell that can interact with other
atoms – much the same way as it is only the paint on the exterior of your house that "interacts"
with, and gets wet by, rain water.

An atom's valence shell “covers” inner

electron shells

The valence shell electrons in an atom determine the way it will interact with neighboring
atoms, and therefore determine its chemical properties. Since both sodium and lithium have
one valence electron , they share similar chemical properties.

Comprehension Checkpoint

The chemical properties of an element are determined by the number of electrons in

a. the electron shell closest to the nucleus of the atom.

b. the outermost electron shell.

Electron con guration shorthand

For elements in groups labeled A in the periodic table (IA, IIA, etc.), the number of valence
electrons corresponds to the group number. Thus Li, Na, and other elements in group IA have

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one valence electron . Be, Mg, and other group-IIA elements have two valence electrons. B, Al,
and other group-IIIA elements have three valence electrons, and so on. The row, or period ,
number that an element resides in on the table is equal to the number of total shells that
contain electrons in the atom . H and He in the rst period normally have electrons in only the
rst shell; Li, Be, B, and other period-two elements have two shells occupied, and so on. To write
the electron con guration of elements, scientists often use a shorthand in which the element's
symbol is followed by the element's electron shells . A few examples are shown below.

Element Con guration Shorthand

Element Con guration Shorthand

Hydrogen H 1e-

Lithium Li 2e- 1e-

Fluorine F 2e- 7e-

Sodium Na 2e- 8e- 1e-

For further details, the table linked below shows the electron con gurations of the rst eleven
elements .

Interactive Animation:
Atomic and ionic structure
of the rst 12 elements

Summary

The modern periodic table is based on Dmitri Mendeleev’s 1896 observations that chemical
elements can be grouped according to chemical properties they exhibit. This module explains
the arrangement of elements in the period table. It de nes periods and groups and describes
how various electron con gurations a ect the properties of the atom.

NGSS

HS-C1.1, HS-PS1.A2
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Further Reading

Atomic Theory II

Anthony Carpi, Ph.D. “The Periodic Table of Elements” Visionlearning Vol. CHE-1 (4), 2003.

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