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There are currently 118 known chemical elements with a wide range of physical and chemical properties. Amongst this diversity, scientists have found it useful to apply names for various sets of elements that have similar properties, to varying degrees. Many of these sets are formally recognized by the standards body IUPAC. [1]
Elements with similar chemical properties generally fall into the same group in the periodic table, although in the f-block, and to some respect in the d-block, the elements in the same period tend to have similar properties, as well.
Arranged this way, elements in the same group (column) have similar chemical and physical properties, reflecting the periodic law. For example, the halogens lie in the second-to-last group ( group 17 ) and share similar properties, such as high reactivity and the tendency to gain one electron to arrive at a noble-gas electronic configuration.
Chemical similarity (or molecular similarity) refers to the similarity of chemical elements, molecules or chemical compounds with respect to either structural or functional qualities, i.e. the effect that the chemical compound has on reaction partners in inorganic or biological settings.
The chemical elements can be broadly divided into metals, metalloids, and nonmetals according to their shared physical and chemical properties.All elemental metals have a shiny appearance (at least when freshly polished); are good conductors of heat and electricity; form alloys with other metallic elements; and have at least one basic oxide.
The elements have very similar properties: they are all shiny, silvery-white, somewhat reactive metals at standard temperature and pressure. [ 2 ] Together with helium , these elements have in common an outer s orbital which is full [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] —that is, this orbital contains its full complement of two electrons, which the alkaline ...
The three group 12 elements that occur naturally are zinc, cadmium and mercury. They are all widely used in electric and electronic applications, as well as in various alloys. The first two members of the group share similar properties as they are solid metals under standard conditions.
Thus, on both descending a period and crossing a group by one element, the changes "cancel" each other out, and elements with similar properties which have similar chemistry are often found – the atomic radius, electronegativity, properties of compounds (and so forth) of the diagonal members are similar.