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Periodic Trends Of Chemical Properties

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Periodic Trends of Chemical and Physical Properties in Group 1A and 7A
Hamish Thomson, Chemistry 11.2, Mr Ryan O’Sullivan
Intro:
In chemistry, there are two classes of observable properties matter can display; chemical and physical. These properties are classified by what needs to happen to the substance before the property becomes evident. Chemical properties require a chemical change while physical properties don’t need a chemical change to occur. Four properties of the alkali metals and halogens will be talked about through this essay, two chemical and two physical. The two chemical properties will be reactivity, how willing a substance is to undergo a chemical change and toxicity, the ability of a substance to cause damage to an …show more content…

In Fig 1 the reactivity of Non-Metals decreases every period and increases every group, the halogens lie on the end of the group of Non-metals causing them to be highly reactive. The alkali metals have a single electron in their outer electron shell, making it easy for them to become a noble gas and period down the periodic table the easier it is to get rid of the extra electron, causing the alkali metals to become more reactive the further down the periods. To become a noble gas a halogen must gain an electron, the farther away the outer shell is from the nucleus, the more energy that is required for an electron to enter the shell. Halogens need one more electron to become a noble gas, while alkali metals need to donate an electron to become a noble gas. (Johnsonburg High School, n.d.) Fig 1. This shows the trends of the reactivity of Metals and non-metals on the periodic table.
Paragraph 3. Toxicity
Toxicity is how dangerous a substance is to an organism, it is commonly measured by the amount required to kill 50% of the population of a given organism. The toxicity of the alkali metals increases each period, due to the increase in reactivity. The toxicity of the halogens decreases as you go down until astatine, which is harmful due to radioactivity (Helmenstine, 2017).
Paragraph 4. What is a physical property:
A physical property is a property of matter that can be observed without causing a

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