what does period and group identify on the periodic table?

Answer 1

This is an answer I gave a few weeks ago. It helped me to get from failing Chemistry to University....maybe it will help you to understand the periodic table as well.

My Chemistry teacher taught me a great story which helped me learn the elements, which groups they were in, which periods, how many electrons they had etc and resulted in me going from a grade F to B. Every kid should learn this.

Horrible Hairy Little Begger Boys Catch Newts On Friday Near Naples, Magnificent Albert Sits Planning Some Clever Arrangement Keeping Calm.

Ok, looks crazy until you break it down;

H He Li Be B C N O F Ne Na, Mg Al Si P S CL Ar K Ca

Then put it into the table

H
He
Li Be B C N O F Ne
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
K Ca

You will need to line them up because Yahoo has left align, but the trick is the story.

The groups 1-8 (across the table) tell you how many electrons are in the outer shell, the periods (down the table) tell you how many shells an element has. etc

eg Sodium (Na+, group 1) bonds with Chlorine (Cl- , group 7) because Chlorine has 7 electrons in its outer shell. It needs the one from sodium to become stable.....NaCl (kitchen salt). This is the basis for other compund formation....ie water H2O and so on.

Learn the story above and everything will fall into place.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Period [horizontal rows]: Organized by energy level (1 being at the top)
Group [vertical columns]: Organized by # of valence electrons (alkali, carbon, halogens)(1 valence e on left - 8 on the right)

Answer 3

they identify elements.the first group are reactive metals the last group are inert gases, elements near the zig-zag line have properties of both.

Answer 4

BIG TABLE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table_%28large_version%29