Trinity Carlock

7/28/24

Elements and the Periodic Table

Purpose

-To become familiar with the periodic table, and its organization, and the properties of
elements including subatomic particles.

- To observe the characteristic colors produced by certain metallic ions when vaporized in a
flame and then to identify an unknown metallic ion by means of a flame test.

- To combine two metals together to make an alloy.

Background

In this experiment, you will be looking at some elements in the laboratory. Some look
different from each
other, while others look similar. Elements can be categorized in several ways. In this
experiment, you are
going to group elements by similarities in their physical properties. Elements that appear
shiny or lustrous
are called metals. Metals are also usually good conductors of heat and electricity. Other
elements called
nonmetals are not good conductors of heat and electricity, are brittle, and appear dull (not
shiny).

Certain groups of elements have common names that you should become familiar with.
These include the alkali metals (Group 1A), the alkaline earth metals (Group 2A), the
halogens (Group 7A), and the noble gases (Group 8A). These groups, like all vertical groups
on the periodic table, contain elements that are similar to one another. As we go across the
periodic table, some of the properties of elements vary in a regular way. One property that
does this is atomic radius which is the distance for the
nucleus of an atom to its outermost electrons.

Atoms are made of even smaller particles of matter called subatomic particles. A large number of
subatomic particles are now known, but we are primarily interested in protons (p +),
neutrons (n), and
electrons (e-). Protons are positively charged particles (1+), electrons are negatively
charged particles
(1-), and neutrons are neutral (charge = 0). Within the atom, the protons and neutrons are tightly
packed together in the nucleus. Electrons are outside of the nucleus and occupy the rest of
the atom,
which is mostly empty space. Atoms of a particular element always contain the same number
of protons
in the nucleus. The number of protons in an atom is called the atomic number (Z). For
example, atoms
of the element hydrogen always have one proton in their nuclei, while atoms of the next
element, helium,
always have two protons in their nuclei. Atoms of the element carbon similarly contain six
protons, and
atoms of iron have 26 protons. In a neutral atom, the number of protons is equal to the
number of
electrons. The sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom is
called the mass number (A) of the atom.

For an atom:
Atomic number (Z) = number of protons= number of
electrons
 Mass Number (A) = number of protons + number of
neutrons

In this activity you will also investigate the colors of flame produced by solutions of metallic
ions. When a
metallic ion is excited by heating it in a flame, the metal ions will begin to emit light. We will
use our
flame test to identify what metal ion is in an unknown sample. This technique of using certain
metallic
ions to color flames is widely used in pyrotechnics to produce the range of colors seen in a
firework
display.

4-1
Periodic Table and Elements
Procedure

Part A. Comparison of Physical Properties of Elements.

1. Gather samples of the elements below ([Link] and then complete
the table below by writing the name, atomic number, and color for each element . Also
indicate whether the element is shiny or dull, and whether it is a metal, nonmetal or
metalloid.

Element Symbol Atomic Color Luster Metal,

number (Shiny or dull) nonmetal or
metalloid
Aluminum

Carbon

Copper

Iron

Magnesium

Nickel

Nitrogen

Oxygen

Phosphorus

Silicon

Silver

Sulfur

Tin

Zinc

Predicting Properties Based on Location in the Periodic Table

2. Use the location of the given elements in the periodic table

([Link] to predict whether the
elements listed below would be a metal or non-metal and shiny or dull. After you have
completed your predictions, observe those same elements on the front counter to see if
your predictions are correct.
Element Metal or Nonmetal? Prediction: Prediction Correct?
Shiny or Dull? Yes or No
Chromium

Gold

Lead

Cadmium
Part B. Atoms and Subatomic Particles

1. Using your known regarding the parts of an atom, complete the following table with the
correct atomic
numbers, mass numbers, and number of protons, electrons, and neutrons for the neutral
atom of each
element

Note: This table deals with atoms only- not ions.

Element Symbol Atomic Mass Protons Neutrons Electrons

Number number

Sodium NA 11 22.99 11 11.99 11

Cu 34.55

162.5 66

Flerovium 114

Iron 26 55.84

TI 47.87 22

2. Complete the table below with the number of protons, electrons, neutrons, and
complete atomic notation (showing the mass number and atomic number) for each
neutral atom

Isotope name Atomic notation Protons Neutrons electrons

(symbol with mass
(Name-Mass) number
and atomic number)
39 19
19 K
80 35
35 Br
75 42
33 Ge
Sulfur-31 31 16 15 16
16 S
Part C Questions and Graphs

1. Write the name and symbols of

a. the halogen in period 4 __________________ _________

b. the alkali metal in period 2 __________________ _________

c. the metalloid in period 3 __________________ _________

d. the noble gas in period 1 __________________ _________

2. Calculate the average atomic mass of sulfur if 95.00% of all sulfur atoms have a mass of 31.972 amu,
0.76% has a mass of 32.971 amu and 4.22% have a mass of 33.967 amu. Show work.

3. Source for Plotting Graphs: [Link] plot the atomic radius (y- axis) for
elements 1-24 versus atomic number (x- axis), instert your table below and then answer the
question that follow.

Symbol Atomic Atomic Radius Symbol Atomic Atomic Radius

Number (Picometers) Number (Picometers)
x-axis y-axis x-axis y-axis
H 1 53 Al 13 118
He 2 31 Si 14 111
Li 3 167 P 15 98
Be 4 112 S 16 88
B 5 87 Cl 17 79
C 6 67 Ar 18 71
N 7 56 K 19 243
O 8 48 Ca 20 194
F 9 42 Sc 21 184
Ne 10 38 Ti 22 176
Na 11 190 V 23 171
Mg 12 145 Cr 24 166
a. Insert graph below

b. What trend do you notice in atomic radius as you go across a period on the periodic table?