3.2 Chemical Families

• Alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, halogens, noble gases and transition metals
• Physical and chemical properties of selected elements
• Uses of the elements and their compounds in day-to-day life

• identify chemical families in the periodic table
• classify elements of the periodic table into their chemical families
• describe the physical and chemical properties of selected elements
• explain the unreactive nature of the noble gases
• outline the uses of elements of the periodic table
• acknowledge the uses of the elements of the periodic table in day-to-day life

“How are elements suited for their use in day-to-day life?”

“Why is sodium stored under oil while gold is found lying in a river bed?”

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1. The reactive families: alkali metals and halogens
   40 min · 2 practice tasks · quiz
   Two families at opposite ends of the table, and the single fact that explains both.
2. Noble gases, transition metals and how elements are used
   40 min · 2 practice tasks · quiz
   The family that does nothing, the family that does everything, and why each is chosen for its job.
3. Families and outer electrons
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   A vertical group is a family because it shares a number of outer electrons, so you can predict an element you have never met.
4. Alkali metals with water
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   One outer electron, a knife-soft metal, and a reaction that gets more violent as the atom gets larger.
5. The alkaline earth metals
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Two outer electrons, so less reactive than group I, but still a family that burns, fizzes and makes hard water.
6. Halogens: displacement and uses
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Seven outer electrons, a colour that darkens down the group, and a test-tube proof of who is more reactive.
7. Noble gases and the full shell
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   A complete outer shell is chemically useless, and that is exactly why we put argon in a bulb and helium in a balloon.
8. Transition metals, alloys and uses
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Hard coloured metals in the middle of the table, mixed into steel and brass because pure metals are often too soft.