The Atoms Family Cheat Sheet by Phoebe12

An element is a pure substance that is made from a single type of atom.

Substances which are made of more than one type of atom bonded together are known as compounds.

1st shell: holds 2 e-

3rd shell: holds up to 8 e-

There are 2 exceptions to the octet rule.

2. The cases in which there are more than 8 electrons in the outer shell.

Lewis Struct­ures: Starting at the right, draw 4 electrons, or dots, counte­r-c­loc­kwise around the element symbol.

Atoms with a relatively empty outer shell will want to give up electrons. For example, if an atom has 1 electron out of a possible 8 in its outer shell, it will want to give up that electron so its outer shell is now full.

Halogens:

All non-me­tals. Very reactive. Poor conductors of heat and electr­icity. Tend to form salts with metals. Ex. NaCl: sodium chloride also known as “table salt”. The melting and boiling points increase down the group because of the van der Waals force.

Elements in group 16. Contains three nonmetals, one metalloid, and one metal. Reactive group.

Elements in groups 3-12

Alkaline Earth Metals:

Slightly less reactive than alkali metals. They are silver colored and more dense than alkali metals.

These metals are extremely reactive and are never found in nature in their pure form. They are silver coloured and shiny. Their density is extremely low so that they are soft enough to be cut with a knife.

This element does not match the properties of any other group so it stands alone. It is placed above group 1 but it is not part of that group. It is a very reactive, colour­less, odourless gas at room temper­ature.

Elements in group 13. Contains one metalloid and 4 metals. Reactive. Aluminium is in this group. It is also the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust.

Elements in group 14. Contains on non-metal, two metall­oids, and two metals. Varied reacti­vity.

Elements in group 15. Contains two non-me­tals, two metall­oids, and one metal. Varied reacti­vity.

These are also transition metals that were taken out and placed at the bottom of the table so the table wouldn’t be so wide. The elements in each of these two periods share many proper­ties. The lantha­nides are shiny and reactive. The actinides are all radioa­ctive and are therefore unstable. Elements 95 through 103 do not exist in nature but have been manufa­ctured in the lab.

Unreactive non-me­tals. All are colour­less, odourless gases at room temper­ature. All found in earth’s atmosphere in small amounts.

The columns in the Periodic Table are called Groups (there are 8 groups). The rows in the Periodic Table are called Periods (there are 7 periods).

The metals are found on the left of the Periodic Table. The non-metals are found on the right of the Periodic Table. There are more metals than non-me­tals.

It can be found under the symbol for the element.

It can be found above the symbol for the element.

Most elements are metals. They are usually shiny, very dense, and only melt at high temper­atures. Their shape can be easily changed into thin wires or sheets without breaking. Metals will corrode, gradually wearing away, like rusting iron. Heat and electr­icity travel easily through metals, which is why it is not wise to stand next to a flagpole during a thunde­rstorm!

Elements that have properties of both metals and non-metals are called metall­oids. They can be shiny or dull and their shape is easily changed. Electr­icity and heat can travel through metalloids but not as easily as they travel through metals.

Nanote­chn­ology is science, engine­ering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanome­ters.

Nanosc­ience and nanote­chn­ology involve the ability to see and to control individual atoms and molecules. Everything on Earth is made up of atoms—the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the buildings and houses we live in, and our own bodies.

The elements in group 7 of the periodic table, on the right, are called the halogens.

The atoms of each element get larger going down the group. This means that the outer shell gets further away from the nucleus and is shielded by more electron shells. The further the outer shell is from the positive attraction of the nucleus, the harder it is to attract another electron to complete the outer shell. This is why the reactivity of the halogens decreases going down group 7.

Each atom can achieve this by sharing one electron with another atom to form a single covalent bond.

Separation processes: filtra­tion, distil­lation, centri­fuge, sublim­ation, absorp­tion, crysta­lli­sation and chromo­tog­raphy.

Electrons are particles that orbit the nucleus. They are negatively charged.

The centre of an atom is called the nucleus.

Neutrons are particles that are in the nucleus. They do not have a charge and are neutral.

The elements in group 0, on the right of the periodic table, are called the noble gases.

They are all very unreac­tive.

Ions are atoms with extra electrons or missing electrons. When you are missing an electron or two, you have a positive charge. When you have an extra electron or two, you have a negative charge.

The same carbon atoms are used repeatedly on earth. They cycle between the earth and the atmosp­here.

The carbon becomes part of the plant (stored food).

When plants and animals die, most of their bodies are decomposed and carbon atoms are returned to the atmosp­here.

Carbon in rocks and underg­round deposits is released very slowly into the atmosp­here.

Additional carbon is stored in the ocean.

Animals die and carbon substances are deposited at the bottom of the ocean.

Burning anything releases more carbon into atmosphere — especially fossil fuels.

Carbon is very versatile and can be found in different forms called allotropes (which means different forms of the same element)

Charcoal: Crumbles easily, is powdery Can be used for sketching, odor eaters in shoes because it absorbs gases, used in tablets for people with digestive problems, poisonous gas filters in gas masks

Diamond: Another form of carbon, has a rigid crystal lattice and is one of the strongest and hardest materials on Earth. Does not conduct electr­icity.

Buckyballs and nanotubes: Buckyballs are another allotrope of carbon discovered in 1985. They are balls made up of 60 carbon atoms and have the same geometric shape as a soccer ball. Nanotubes are sheets of carbon rolled into hollow tubes and they are very strong and conduct electr­icity and are used in miniature electrical circuits.

Isotopes are atoms that have the same number of protons and electrons, but a different number of neutrons.

There are two ways that isotopes are generally written. They both use the mass of the atom where mass = (number of protons) + (number of neutrons).

The other way is to write out the element and write the mass after a dash next to the element's name.