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8th grade · Science · Unit 5 of 16

The Periodic Table

Groups, periods and patterns

What your child practices

Groups and periods, metals, non-metals and metalloids, alkali metals, halogens and noble gases, and how valence electrons and shells explain the patterns.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 8.4; 8.5 · groups, periods and electrons, and predicting how reactive an element is

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Rows are periods; the number of electron shells gives the period.
  2. Columns are groups. In groups 1 and 2, the group is the number of valence (outer) electrons; for groups 13 to 18, add 10.
  3. Group 1: alkali metals; group 17: halogens; group 18: noble gases, which rarely react.

Example: Oxygen’s electrons are 2, 6. Which period and group is it in? 2 shells: period 2. 6 valence electrons: 6 + 10 = group 16. Answer: period 2, group 16

The Periodic Table in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 5 of 16 in 8th grade Science, after Atoms & Elements and before Chemical Reactions.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Where are the metals found on the periodic table?

    • only on the far right
    • only in the top row
    • metals are not on the table
    • on the left and in the middle

  2. Question 2

    Group 18 elements, such as neon and argon, are called the…

    • noble gases
    • alkali metals
    • metalloids
    • halogens

  3. Question 3

    Which property do all metals share at room temperature, except mercury?

    • they are brittle
    • they are solid
    • they are gases
    • they do not conduct

  4. Question 4

    Phosphorus has electrons arranged 2, 8, 5. Which group (column) number is it in?

    answer box

  5. Question 5

    Which element has 2 electron shells and 3 valence electrons?

    • Magnesium
    • Boron
    • Sodium
    • Silicon

  6. Question 6

    Which is the only common metal that is a liquid at room temperature?

    • aluminum
    • iron
    • mercury
    • copper

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