Home > Encyclopedia of Science > Lanthanides

• Lanthanides as rare earth elements
• Words to Know
• Occurrence
• Properties
• Uses of lanthanides

The lanthanides are the chemical elements found in Row 6 of the periodic table between Groups 3 and 4. They follow lanthanum (La), element #57, which accounts for their family name. The lanthanides include the metals cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and lutetium (Lu).

Lanthanides as rare earth elements

At one time, the lanthanides were called the rare earth elements. The name suggests that chemists once thought that...