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 metalsOne loosely bound valence electronHighly reactive, with reactivity increasing moving down the groupThe largest atomic radius of elements in their periodLow ionization energyLow electronegativity Alkaline Earth Metals Two electrons in the valence shellReadily form divalent cationsLow electron affinityLow 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 malleableHigh melting and boiling pointsHigh thermal and electrical conductivityForm cations (positive oxidation states)Tend to exhibit more than one oxidation stateLow ionization energy Metalloids or Semimetals Electronegativity and ionization energy intermediate between that of metals and nonmetalsMay possess a metallic lusterVariable density, hardness, conductivity, and other propertiesOften make good semiconductorsReactivity 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 energyHigh electronegativityPoor electrical and thermal conductorsForm brittle solidsLittle if any metallic lusterReadily gain electrons Halogens The halogens exhibit different physical properties from each other but do share chemical properties. Extremely high electronegativityVery reactiveSeven 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. 1IA1A 18VIIIA8A 1H1.008 2IIA2A 13IIIA3A 14IVA4A 15VA5A 16VIA6A 17VIIA7A 2He4.003 3Li6.941 4Be9.012 5B10.81 6C12.01 7N14.01 8O16.00 9F19.00 10Ne20.18 11Na22.99 12Mg24.31 3IIIB3B 4IVB4B 5VB5B 6VIB6B 7VIIB7B 8←← 9VIII8 10→→ 11IB1B 12IIB2B 13Al26.98 14Si28.09 15P30.97 16S32.07 17Cl35.45 18Ar39.95 19K39.10 20Ca40.08 21Sc44.96 22Ti47.88 23V50.94 24Cr52.00 25Mn54.94 26Fe55.85 27Co58.47 28Ni58.69 29Cu63.55 30Zn65.39 31Ga69.72 32Ge72.59 33As74.92 34Se78.96 35Br79.90 36Kr83.80 37Rb85.47 38Sr87.62 39Y88.91 40Zr91.22 41Nb92.91 42Mo95.94 43Tc(98) 44Ru101.1 45Rh102.9 46Pd106.4 47Ag107.9 48Cd112.4 49In114.8 50Sn118.7 51Sb121.8 52Te127.6 53I126.9 54Xe131.3 55Cs132.9 56Ba137.3 * 72Hf178.5 73Ta180.9 74W183.9 75Re186.2 76Os190.2 77Ir190.2 78Pt195.1 79Au197.0 80Hg200.5 81Tl204.4 82Pb207.2 83Bi209.0 84Po(210) 85At(210) 86Rn(222) 87Fr(223) 88Ra(226) ** 104Rf(257) 105Db(260) 106Sg(263) 107Bh(265) 108(265) 109Mt(266) 110Ds(271) 111Rg(272) 112Cn(277) 113Uut-- 114Fl(296) 115Uup-- 116Lv(298) 117Uus-- 118Uuo-- *LanthanideSeries 57La138.9 58Ce140.1 59Pr140.9 60Nd144.2 61Pm(147) 62150.4 63Eu152.0 64Gd157.3 65Tb158.9 66Dy162.5 67Ho164.9 68Er167.3 69Tm168.9 70Yb173.0 71Lu175.0 **ActinideSeries 89Ac(227) 90Th232.0 91Pa(231) 92U(238) 93Np(237) 94Pu(242) 95Am(243) 96Cm(247) 97Bk(247) 98Cf(249) 99Es(254) 100Fm(253) 101Md(256) 102No(254) 103Lr(257) Alkali MetalAlkaline EarthTransition MetalBasic MetalSemi MetalNonmetalHalogenNoble GasLanthanideActinide