Property:Periodic table column

Type:IntegerThe type of this property is invalid

A group, also known as a family, is a vertical column in the periodic table of the elements.

Groups are considered the most important method of classifying the elements. In some groups, the elements have very similar properties and exhibit a clear trend in properties down the group — these groups tend to be given trivial (non-scientific) names, e.g. the alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, transition metals, halogens and noble gases. Some other groups in the periodic table display fewer similarities and/or vertical trends (for example Groups 14 and 15). Modern quantum mechanical theories of atomic structure explain that elements within the same group have the same electron configurations in their valence shell, which is the largest factor in accounting for their similar chemical properties.

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