Representative Metals, Metalloids, and Nonmetals
Introduction
OpenStaxCollege
[latexpage]
Learning Objectives
- Periodicity
- Occurrence and Preparation of the Representative Metals
- Structure and General Properties of the Metalloids
- Structure and General Properties of the Nonmetals
- Occurrence, Preparation, and Compounds of Hydrogen
- Occurrence, Preparation, and Properties of Carbonates
- Occurrence, Preparation, and Properties of Nitrogen
- Occurrence, Preparation, and Properties of Phosphorus
- Occurrence, Preparation, and Compounds of Oxygen
- Occurrence, Preparation, and Properties of Sulfur
- Occurrence, Preparation, and Properties of Halogens
- Occurrence, Preparation, and Properties of the Noble Gases
Purity is extremely important when preparing silicon wafers. Technicians in a cleanroom prepare silicon without impurities (left). The CEO of VLSI Research, Don Hutcheson, shows off a pure silicon wafer (center). A silicon wafer covered in Pentium chips is an enlarged version of the silicon wafers found in many electronics used today (right). (credit middle: modification of work by “Intel Free Press”/Flickr; credit right: modification of work by Naotake Murayama)
The development of the periodic table in the mid-1800s came from observations that there was a periodic relationship between the properties of the elements. Chemists, who have an understanding of the variations of these properties, have been able to use this knowledge to solve a wide variety of technical challenges. For example, silicon and other semiconductors form the backbone of modern electronics because of our ability to fine-tune the electrical properties of these materials. This chapter explores important properties of representative metals, metalloids, and nonmetals in the periodic table.
