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Chemistry: Challenges and Solutions

Patterns and Trends in the Periodic Table (animation)

The beauty of the periodic table is revealed in the patterns and trends in its rows and columns. Going up or down a column, elements are organized into groups which have similar chemical properties. Moving left or right within a row, the atoms trend smaller or larger in size, and their reactivities go up and down. Beyond periods and groups, the table organizes elements into blocks: the s block, the p block, the dblock, and the f block, which reveal more about how the electrons are arranged, who their neighbors in the table are likely to be, and which electrons are their valence electrons.

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Chemistry: Challenges and Solutions

Credits

Produced by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. 2014.
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