The Periodic Table, Atomic Structure, and Bonding

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the history of the Periodic Table, sub-atomic particles, atomic structure, element classifications, and chemical bonding based on the lecture notes.

Periodic Table

An arrangement where elements are listed mainly in order of increasing atomic mass (originally) or proton number, with elements sharing similar properties grouped together.

Atomic mass

The mass of an atom of an element, which Stanislao Cannizzaro worked out and Dmitri Mendeleev used to organize the first Periodic Table.

Gallium

The missing element below aluminium in the Periodic Table, discovered in 1874 by a French scientist, confirming Mendeleev's predictions.

Rhenium

A missing element below manganese in the Periodic Table, discovered in 1925 when Ida Tacke and Walter Noddack extracted $1\,\text{g}$ of it from $660\,\text{kg}$ of rock.

Analogy

A comparison that helps to explain something, such as describing atoms as being like pool balls or comparing an atom to a football stadium with a nucleus the size of a pea.

Nucleus

The tiny, positively charged centre of an atom where nearly all of the atom's mass is concentrated.

Sub-atomic particle

Any of the tiny particles that make up an atom, specifically protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Proton

A positively charged sub-atomic particle located in the nucleus with a relative mass of $1$ and a relative charge of $+1$.

Neutron

A neutral sub-atomic particle found in the nucleus with a relative mass of $1$ and a relative charge of $0$.

Electron

A negatively charged sub-atomic particle with a relative charge of $-1$ and a relative mass of $\frac{1}{2000}$ that moves in orbits outside the nucleus.

Relative mass of an atom

The sum of the numbers of protons and neutrons in an atom.

Metal

An element found to the left of the stepped line on the Periodic Table that is solid at room temperature, shiny when newly cut, and a good conductor of electricity and thermal energy.

Non-metal

An element found to the right of the stepped line on the Periodic Table that does not conduct electricity and is a poor conductor of thermal energy.

Group

A vertical column in the Periodic Table containing elements that share similar chemical properties because their atoms possess the same number of outer-shell electrons.

Hardness

A physical property that describes how easy it is to scratch an element.

Shells

The orbits or nearly circular paths outside the nucleus where electrons move around an atom.

Electronic structure

The arrangement of electrons in shells within an atom.

Covalent bond

A bond formed by a shared pair of electrons between atoms in a molecule.

Ion

An electrically charged particle formed when an atom loses or gains one or more electrons.

Ionic bonding

The electrostatic attraction acting in all directions between positive ions and negative ions that holds a crystal together.

Giant ionic structure

A three-dimensional pattern in which ionic bonds hold millions of positive and negative ions together in the solid state.