| MadSci Network: Chemistry |
There is a pattern to reactivity. This pattern is most closely followed by the representative elements. The representative elements are hydrogen, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, helium, and all of the elements directly below them on the periodic table. The noble gasses, Helium and all of the elements directly below it, rarely react with anything. (There are a few exceptions.) The further to the right and towards the top, the more the elements want to grab electrons, and the less they like to share. This makes them not bond very strongly to each other, and to bond very strongly with elements far away on the periodic table.
The further to the left and towards the bottom, the more the atoms want to give up electrons. These atoms give up electrons so easily, they don't even share much. These atoms are metals. The reason metals are conductive to electricity is that they don't hold on to their electrons very strongly.
Elements on the top right are very reactive. Elements on the bottom left are very reactive. Elements in the strip from top left to bottom right are less reactive. The closer to the middle, the less reactive they are. The column of elements furthest to the right are extremely unreactive.
You might have seen an activity series. Ions higher on the list replace those lower on the list in solutions in water. This has to do with a concept called charge density, the amount of charge per unit of volume of the ion. If you saw a list like this, a pattern would be very hard to see.
Chemistry can be tough, but hang in there. It can also be fun, too.
Keep those questions coming!
Matthew Barchok, Mad Scientist
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Chemistry.