Science, Tech, Math › Science Periodic Table of Element Groups Share Flipboard Email Print GIPhotoStock / Getty Images Science Chemistry Periodic Table Basics Chemical Laws Molecules Projects & Experiments Scientific Method Biochemistry Physical Chemistry Medical Chemistry Chemistry In Everyday Life Famous Chemists Activities for Kids Abbreviations & Acronyms Biology Physics Geology Astronomy Weather & Climate By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Chemistry Expert Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. our editorial process Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Updated April 01, 2020 One reason the periodic table of the elements is so useful is that it is a means of arranging elements according to their similar properties. This is what is meant by periodicity or periodic table trends. There are multiple ways of grouping the elements, but they are commonly divided into metals, semimetals (metalloids), and nonmetals. You'll find more specific groups, like transition metals, rare earths, alkali metals, alkaline earth, halogens, and noble gasses. Groups in the Periodic Table of Elements Click on an element to read about the chemical and physical properties of the group to which that element belongs. Alkali Metals Less dense than other metals One loosely bound valence electron Highly reactive, with reactivity increasing moving down the group The largest atomic radius of elements in their period Low ionization energy Low electronegativity Alkaline Earth Metals Two electrons in the valence shell Readily form divalent cations Low electron affinity Low electronegativity Transition Metals The lanthanides (rare earth) and actinides are also transition metals. The basic metals are similar to transition metals but tend to be softer and to hint at nonmetallic properties. In their pure state, all of these elements tend to have a shiny, metallic appearance. While there are radioisotopes of other elements, all of the actinides are radioactive. Very hard, usually shiny, ductile, and malleable High melting and boiling points High thermal and electrical conductivity Form cations (positive oxidation states) Tend to exhibit more than one oxidation state Low ionization energy Metalloids or Semimetals Electronegativity and ionization energy intermediate between that of metals and nonmetals May possess a metallic luster Variable density, hardness, conductivity, and other properties Often make good semiconductors Reactivity depends on the nature of other elements in the reaction Nonmetals The halogens and noble gases are nonmetals, although they have their own groups, too. High ionization energy High electronegativity Poor electrical and thermal conductors Form brittle solids Little if any metallic luster Readily gain electrons Halogens The halogens exhibit different physical properties from each other but do share chemical properties. Extremely high electronegativity Very reactive Seven valence electrons, so elements from this group typically exhibit a -1 oxidation state Noble Gases The noble gasses have complete valence electron shells, so they act differently. Unlike other groups, noble gasses are unreactive and have very low electronegativity or electron affinity. Periodic Table of Element Groups Click on the element symbol in the table for further information. 1 IA 1A 18 VIIIA 8A 1 H 1.008 2 IIA 2A 13 IIIA 3A 14 IVA 4A 15 VA 5A 16 VIA 6A 17 VIIA 7A 2 He 4.003 3 Li 6.941 4 Be 9.012 5 B 10.81 6 C 12.01 7 N 14.01 8 O 16.00 9 F 19.00 10 Ne 20.18 11 Na 22.99 12 Mg 24.31 3 IIIB 3B 4 IVB 4B 5 VB 5B 6 VIB 6B 7 VIIB 7B 8 ← ← 9 VIII 8 10 → → 11 IB 1B 12 IIB 2B 13 Al 26.98 14 Si 28.09 15 P 30.97 16 S 32.07 17 Cl 35.45 18 Ar 39.95 19 K 39.10 20 Ca 40.08 21 Sc 44.96 22 Ti 47.88 23 V 50.94 24 Cr 52.00 25 Mn 54.94 26 Fe 55.85 27 Co 58.47 28 Ni 58.69 29 Cu 63.55 30 Zn 65.39 31 Ga 69.72 32 Ge 72.59 33 As 74.92 34 Se 78.96 35 Br 79.90 36 Kr 83.80 37 Rb 85.47 38 Sr 87.62 39 Y 88.91 40 Zr 91.22 41 Nb 92.91 42 Mo 95.94 43 Tc (98) 44 Ru 101.1 45 Rh 102.9 46 Pd 106.4 47 Ag 107.9 48 Cd 112.4 49 In 114.8 50 Sn 118.7 51 Sb 121.8 52 Te 127.6 53 I 126.9 54 Xe 131.3 55 Cs 132.9 56 Ba 137.3 * 72 Hf 178.5 73 Ta 180.9 74 W 183.9 75 Re 186.2 76 Os 190.2 77 Ir 190.2 78 Pt 195.1 79 Au 197.0 80 Hg 200.5 81 Tl 204.4 82 Pb 207.2 83 Bi 209.0 84 Po (210) 85 At (210) 86 Rn (222) 87 Fr (223) 88 Ra (226) ** 104 Rf (257) 105 Db (260) 106 Sg (263) 107 Bh (265) 108 (265) 109 Mt (266) 110 Ds (271) 111 Rg (272) 112 Cn (277) 113 Uut -- 114 Fl (296) 115 Uup -- 116 Lv (298) 117 Uus -- 118 Uuo -- * Lanthanide Series 57 La 138.9 58 Ce 140.1 59 Pr 140.9 60 Nd 144.2 61 Pm (147) 62 150.4 63 Eu 152.0 64 Gd 157.3 65 Tb 158.9 66 Dy 162.5 67 Ho 164.9 68 Er 167.3 69 Tm 168.9 70 Yb 173.0 71 Lu 175.0 ** Actinide Series 89 Ac (227) 90 Th 232.0 91 Pa (231) 92 U (238) 93 Np (237) 94 Pu (242) 95 Am (243) 96 Cm (247) 97 Bk (247) 98 Cf (249) 99 Es (254) 100 Fm (253) 101 Md (256) 102 No (254) 103 Lr (257) Alkali Metal Alkaline Earth Transition Metal Basic Metal Semi Metal Nonmetal Halogen Noble Gas Lanthanide Actinide Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Periodic Table of Element Groups." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/periodic-table-of-element-groups-4006869. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2021, February 16). Periodic Table of Element Groups. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/periodic-table-of-element-groups-4006869 Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Periodic Table of Element Groups." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/periodic-table-of-element-groups-4006869 (accessed April 11, 2021). copy citation Watch Now: Trends in the Periodic Table