Chemistry · Ch 2 — p-Block Elements-I
Introduction
Introduction
Last year you learned to sort every element into one of four blocks -- s, p, d or f -- and studied the s-block elements and their compounds in detail. This year the story continues with the remaining three blocks, starting with the p-block.
p-block elements are those in which the last (differentiating) electron enters a p orbital. They occupy groups 13 to 18 of the modern periodic table, and the first member of each of these six groups is, respectively, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine and helium. This is a chemically very varied block -- it holds non-metals, metals and metalloids side by side, with the non-metallic elements showing even more varied behaviour than the metallic ones.
p-Block elements and their compounds are central to everyday life: molecular oxygen sustains every living system; aluminium, the most abundant metal, and its alloys range from kitchen utensils to aircraft parts; and the semiconducting behaviour of silicon and germanium underlies the whole of modern electronics.
This unit works through the first three p-block groups -- boron, carbon and nitrogen families (Groups 13-15) -- covering their preparation, properties and important compounds.