NCERT Class 10 Science Periodic Classification of Elements

Periodic Classification of Elements

In Class IX we have learnt that matter around us is present in the form of elements, compounds and mixtures and the elements contain atoms of only one type. Do you know how many elements are known till date?  At present, 114 elements are known to us. Around the year 1800, only30 elements were known. All these had seemingly different properties. As different elements were being discovered, scientists gathered more and more information about the properties of these elements. They found it difficult to organise all that was known about the elements. They started looking for some pattern in their properties, on the basis of which they could study such a large number of elements with ease.

5.1 MAKING ORDER OUT OF CHAOS – EARLY ATTEMPTS AT THE CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS

We have been learning how various things or living beings can be classified on the basis of their properties. Even in other  situations, we come across instances of organisation basedon some properties. For example, in a shop, soaps are kept together at one place while biscuits are kept together elsewhere. Even among soaps, bathing soaps are stacked separately from  washing soaps. Similarly, scientists made several attempts toclassify elements according to their properties and obtain an orderly arrangement out of chaos.

The earliest attempt to classify the elements resulted in grouping the then known elements as metals and non-metals. Later further classifications were tried out as our knowledge of elements and their properties increased. 5.1.1 Döbereiner’s Triads In the year 1817, Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, a German chemist, tried to arrange the elements with similar properties into groups. He identified some groups having three elements each. So he called these groups ‘triads’. Döbereiner showed that when the three elements in a Figure 5.1

Imagine you and your friends have found pieces of an old map to reach a treasure. Would it be easy or chaotic to find the way to the treasure? Similar chaos was there in Chemistry as elements were known but there was no clue as to how to classify and study about them. 80 Science triad were written in the order of increasing atomic masses; the atomic mass of the middle element was roughly the average of the atomic masses of the other two elements.

For example, take the triad consisting of lithium (Li), sodium (Na) and potassium (K) with the respective atomic masses 6.9, 23.0 and 39.0. What is the average of the atomic masses of Li and K? How does this compare with the atomic mass of Na? Given below (Table 5.1) are some groups of three elements. These elements are arranged downwards in order of increasing atomic masses. Can you find out which of these groups form Döbereiner triads? 5.1.2 Newlands’ Law of Octaves

The attempts of Döbereiner encouraged other chemists to correlate the properties of elements with their atomic masses. In 1866, John Newlands, an English scientist, arranged the then known elements in the order of increasing atomic masses. He started with the element having the lowest atomic mass (hydrogen) and ended at thorium which was the 56th element. He found that every eighth element had properties similar to that of the first. He compared this to the octaves found in music. Therefore, he called it the ‘Law of Octaves’. It is known as ‘Newlands’ Law of Octaves’. In Newlands’ Octaves, the properties of lithium and sodium were found to be the same. Sodium is the eighth element after lithium. Similarly, beryllium and magnesium resemble each other. A part of the original form of Newlands’ Octaves is given in Table 5.3. 

Q U E S T I O N S

1. Did Döbereiner’s triads also exist in the columns of Newlands’ Octaves? Compare and find out.

2. What were the limitations of Döbereiner’s classification?

3. What were the limitations of Newlands’ Law of Octaves?

Q U E S T I O N S

1. Use Mendeléev’s Periodic Table to predict the formulae for the oxides of the following elements:

K, C, AI, Si, Ba.

2. Besides gallium, which other elements have since been discovered thatwere left by Mendeléev in his Periodic Table? (any two)

3. What were the criteria used by Mendeléev in creating his Periodic Table?

4. Why do you think the noble gases are placed in a separate group?

E X E R C I S E S

1. Which of the following statements is not a correct statement about the trends when going from left to right across the periods of periodic Table.

(a) The elements become less metallic in nature.

(b) The number of valence electrons increases.

(c) The atoms lose their electrons more easily.

(d) The oxides become more acidic.

2. Element X forms a chloride with the formula XCl2, which is a solid with a high  melting point. X would most likely be in the same group of the Periodic Table as

(a) Na (b) Mg (c) AI (d) Si

3. Which element has

(a) two shells, both of which are completely filled with electrons?

(b) the electronic configuration 2, 8, 2?

(c) a total of three shells, with four electrons in its valence shell?

(d) a total of two shells, with three electrons in its valence shell?

(e) twice as many electrons in its second shell as in its first shell?

4. (a) What property do all elements in the same column of the Periodic Table as boron have in common?

(b) What property do all elements in the same column of the Periodic Table as fluorine have in common?

5. An atom has electronic configuration 2, 8, 7.

(a) What is the atomic number of this element?

(b) To which of the following elements would it be chemically similar?

(Atomic numbers are given in parentheses.)

N(7) F(9) P(15) Ar(18)

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 10 Science Periodic Classification of Elements