Periodic classification attempts

1. German chemist, Johann Dobereiner (1829): noted a similarity among the physical and
chemical properties of several groups of three elements (Triads). In each case, noticed that the
middle element of each of the Triads had an atomic weight about half way between the atomic
weights of the other two . Also the properties of the middle element were in between those of
the other two members. Since Dobereiner’s relationship, referred to as the Law of Triads,
seemed to work only for a few elements, it was dismissed as coincidence.
2. French geologist, A.E.B. de Chancourtois (1862):arranged the then known elements in
order of increasing atomic weights and made a cylindrical table of elements to display the
periodic recurrence of properties.
3. English chemist, John Alexander Newlands (1865): arranged the elements in increasing
order of their atomic weights and noted that every eighth element had properties similar to the
first element. Newlands’s Law of Octaves seemed to be true only for elements up to calcium.
was later awarded Davy Medal in 1887 by the Royal Society, London.
[Link] chemist, Lothar Meyer: plotted the physical properties such as atomic volume,
melting point & boiling point against atomic weight & obtained a periodically repeated pattern.
Unlike Newlands, Lothar observed a change in length of that repeating pattern. By 1868, Lothar
had developed a table of the elements that closely resembles the Modern Periodic Table.
5. Russian chemist, Dmitri Mendeleev (1902): In 1869, both chemists arranged elements by
increasing atomic weights, revealing periodic similarities in their physical and chemical
properties. He organized elements into horizontal rows and vertical columns, placing similar
elements in the same groups. However, some elements did not align with this classification;
thus, the order was occasionally disregarded to group elements by properties instead. For
instance, iodine, with a lower atomic weight than tellurium, was placed with fluorine, chlorine,
and bromine in Group VII due to property similarities. The chemists acknowledged gaps for
undiscovered elements, predicting gallium and germanium's existence while labeling gaps
under aluminium and silicon as Eka-Aluminium and Eka-Silicon, respectively, and discussing
their potential properties.

Mend. periodic law: properties of the elements are a periodic function of their atomic
weights.

atomic number is a more fundamental property of an element than its atomic mass:
beginning of the 20th century witnessed profound developments in theories about sub-atomic
particles. In 1913, English physicist, Henry Moseley observed regularities in the characteristic
X-ray spectra of the elements. A plot of √v (where v is frequency of X-rays emitted) against
atomic number (Z) gave a straight
line and not the plot of √v vs atomic mass.

MPL: physical & chemical properties of the elements are periodic functions of their
atomic numbers.
Z = nuclear charge (number of protons/ number of electrons in neutral atom)

Modern periodic table:

Elements having similar outer electronic configurations in their atoms are arranged in vertical
columns, referred to as groups/ families. period number corresponds to the highest principal
quantum number (n) of the elements in the period. first period contains 2 elements. The
subsequent periods consists of 8, 8, 18, 18 & 32 elements.
Nomenclature:
new elements with very high atomic numbers are so unstable that only minute quantities,
sometimes only a few atoms of them are obtained. Their synthesis and characterisation,
therefore, require highly sophisticated costly equipment and laboratory. Such work is carried out
with competitive spirit only in some laboratories in the world. Example: element 104;
american-rrutherfordium, russians-kurchatovium
E.C: distribution of electrons into orbitals of an atom.
principal quantum num (n) defines the main energy level (shell).
number of elements in each period is twice the number of atomic orbitals available in the
energy level that is being filled.
Elements in the same vertical column or group have similar valence shell electronic
configurations, the same number of electrons in the outer orbitals, and similar properties.

a. Atomic radius: an estimate of the atomic size can be made by knowing the distance
between the atoms in the combined state. covalent radius (n.m.r)-measure the distance
between two atoms when they are bound together by a single bond in a covalent molecule.
metallic radius-half the internuclear distance separating the metal cores in the metallic crystal.
van der Waals (n.g)-Being monoatomic, their (non-bonded radii) values are very large so v.d.w
radius is used.
across a period - decreases - outer electrons are in the same valence shell & effective nuclear
charge increases as the atomic number increases resulting in the increased attraction of
electrons to the nucleus.
down a group - increase - alkali metals, halogens, as we descend the groups, p.q.n (n)
increases and the valence electrons are farther from the nucleus. happens because the inner
energy levels are filled with electrons, which shield the outer electrons from the pull of the
nucleus.
b. ionic radius: measuring the distances between cations and anions in ionic crystals.
cation is smaller than its parent atom as it has fewer electrons while its nuclear charge remains
the same. cation w/ greater positive charge will have a smaller radius due to greater attraction of
the electrons to the nucleus. anion will be larger than its parent atom as the addition of one or
more electrons would result in increased repulsion among the electrons and a decrease in e.n.c.
anion w/ greater negative charge will have the larger radius as the net repulsion of the
electrons will outweigh the nuclear charge and the ion will expand in size.
c. ionization enthalpy: energy required to remove an electron from an isolated gaseous atom
(X) in its ground state. units - kJ mol–1. always +ve as energy is always required to remove
electrons from atom.
i.e.2. will be higher than i.e.1. as it is more difficult to remove electron from positively charged
ion than a neutral atom. (i) the attraction of electrons towards the nucleus (e.n.c=i.e), and (ii) the
repulsion of electrons from each other. (iii) atomic radius=1/i.e (iv) effective nuclear charge=i.e
(v) s-orbital more penetrated by nucleus than p-orbital.
across a period - increase - e are added to orbitals in the same p.q.l and the shielding of the
nuclear charge by the inner core of electrons does not increase very much to compensate for
the increased attraction of the electron to the nucleus. (e.n.c outweighs shielding)
down a group - decrease - outermost electron being increasingly farther from the nucleus,
increased shielding of the nuclear charge by the electrons in the inner levels. increase in
shielding outweighs the increasing e.n.c.
d. electron gain enthalpy: when an e is added to a neutral gaseous atom (X) to convert it into
a negative ion, the enthalpy change accompanying the process is e.g.e.
grp 17 - highly -ve as they can attain stable noble gas electronic configurations by picking up an
e.
grp 18 - highly +ve as e has to enter the next higher p.q.l leading to a very unstable e.c.
across a period - increase in -ve - e.n.c increases from left to right across a period & it will be
easier to add an e to a smaller atom since the added e on an average would be closer to the
positively charged nucleus.
down group - decrease in -ve - size of the atom increases & added e would be farther from the
nucleus.
e. electronegativity: qualitative measure of the ability of an atom in a chemical compound to
attract shared electrons to itself. not a measurable quantity. Pauling scale, Mulliken-Jaffe scale,
Allred-Rochow scale. e.n of any given element is not constant; it varies depending on the
element to which it is bound. e.n directly related to n.m properties (as they have tendency to
gain e). increase in electronegativities across a period is accompanied by an increase in
non-metallic properties. decrease in electronegativity down a group is accompanied by a
decrease in non-metallic properties.

a. oxidation state: of an element in a particular compound can be defined as the charge

acquired by its atom on the basis of electronegative consideration from other atoms in the
molecule.
b. diagonal relationship: anomalous behaviour attributed to small size, large charge/ radius
ratio, high electronegativity of the elements, non availability of d orbital, 1st members show
covalent characteristics. (p-block 1st mem) can form multiple bonds w/ itself (c=c) & other 2nd
period elements (c=o,c=n).

aufbau’s principle: in the ground state of the atoms, the orbitals are filled in order of their
increasing energies.
pauli’s exclusion principle: Only two electrons may exist in the same orbital and these
electrons must have opposite spin.
hund’s rule of maximum multiplicity: pairing of electrons in the orbitals belonging to the same
subshell (p, d or f) does not take place until each orbital belonging to that subshell has got one
electron each i.e., it is singly occupied.

p.q.n (n): determines the size and to large extent the energy of the orbital. identifies the shell.
with increase in the value of ‘n’, the number of allowed orbital increases.
a.q.n (l): defines the three-dimensional shape of the orbital. a.k.a orbital angular momentum or
subsidiary quantum number. Relates to sub-shell.
m.q.n (ml): gives information about the spatial orientation of the orbital with respect to the
standard set of co-ordinate axis.
s.q.n (ms): vector quantity