Periodic Table - Periodic patterns

Periodic patterns

Both periods and groups supply information on the element's characteristics and behavior.

In a period, as the atomic mass increases from left to right the atomic size decreases. (The more electrons there are, the more they are pulled towards the center and the atom tightens.) Metals are on the left and middle sections of the periods with the most active metal in the lower left corner. Nonmetals are located on the right side. With the exception of hydrogen, the first element in a period is a solid, and the last element in a period is always a gas that does not react with other elements.

Elements that share the same number of electrons in their outer shell, the groups, share many of the same behaviors. Examples of shared characteristics include their stability, boiling point, and conductivity. For example, the elements on the far right of the table are called the [The entire page is 307 words long]