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The periodic contains all different kinds of elements. It is organized in such a way that elements with similar compounds are grouped together. The different columns of the table are called groups, and today we will be discussing group 16: the chalcogens.
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Sign up for freeWhere are chalcogens located on the periodic table?
True or False: All the chalcogens are nonmetals
True or False: The stable, solid chalcogens are poor conductors
Which chalcogen is radioactive?
Which of these properties decrease as you move down the group?
Which of these properties increase as you move down the group
How many valence electrons do the chalcogens have?
What is the common oxidation state for chalcogens?
Which of the following do chalcogens not commonly react with?
True or False: Sulfur, Selenium, and Tellurium can substitute for oxygen in different inorganic compounds
Where are chalcogens located on the periodic table?
True or False: All the chalcogens are nonmetals
True or False: The stable, solid chalcogens are poor conductors
Which chalcogen is radioactive?
Which of these properties decrease as you move down the group?
Which of these properties increase as you move down the group
How many valence electrons do the chalcogens have?
What is the common oxidation state for chalcogens?
Which of the following do chalcogens not commonly react with?
True or False: Sulfur, Selenium, and Tellurium can substitute for oxygen in different inorganic compounds
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Chalcogens are the group 16 elements in the Periodic Table.
Chalcogen (ore forming) is derived from the Greek word khalkόs (χαλκός) (meaning ore) and the Latin word genēs meaning born.
The chalcogens are the 16th column on the periodic table, as shown below:
Figure 1: The periodic table.
The Chalcogens are also sometimes called group 6A (VIA), since they are the 6th column on the periodic table when you exclude the Transition Metals
Now that we know where they are, let's meet our cast of characters!:
There is one more chalcogen listed, and that is livermorium (Lv). Livermorium is a man-made element whose properties we don't know much about, as only a few atoms have ever been synthesized. However, it is predicted to be a chalcogen. Since it is mostly uncategorized, we will skip it when further describing this group.
There are some variations in the chalcogens. Oxygen, sulfur, and selenium are all non-metals. Tellurium is a metalloid (has properties of both metals and non-metals), while polonium is a very radioactive metal.
For example, oxygen is a colorless gas (at room temperature), while tellurium is a silver solid with a metallic shine, shown below:
Figure 2: Tellirium.
Because of this, there are some variations in their properties as well, as we will see in these next sections.
Oxygen is a gas, while the other chalcogens are solids. The stable solids (i.e. all of them except polonium) are soft and poor conductors.
When we look at the Physical Properties of groups, we often look at the trends. So let's look at how certain properties change as you go down the group.
Firstly, all chalcogens have the same number of Valence Electrons, at 6, which is why they have similar behavior
Valence Electrons are the outermost electrons in an atom and are responsible for Bonding
Oxidation state is a hypothetical charge of an atom. It represents the number of electrons gained (if negative) or lost (if positive) by that atom when it forms a chemical bond.
In this case, it means that chalcogens normally gain 2 electrons, so they have a full set of 8 electrons (called an octet)Below are the other common oxidation states for the chalcogens: -Oxygen: -2 and -1. -Sulfur: -2, +2, +4, and +6. -Selenium: -2, +4, and +6. -Tellurium: −2, +2, +4, and +6. -Polonium: -2, +2, +4, and +6.
As you can see, oxygen can only gain electrons, while the heavier elements can lose electrons. This is because heavier elements are larger, so the nucleus has a weaker "pull" on the outermost electrons, making them easier to lose/remove.
Chalcogens tend to form certain types of compounds. These compounds are called chalcogenides.
Let's break down some of the common reactions/compounds.
Chalcogens have a tendency to react with oxygen to form compounds called oxides. Oxygen itself is diatomic, meaning it occurs in nature as O2.
Based on each element's possible oxidation states, either a monoxide (+2 state), dioxide (+4 state), or trioxide (+6 state) can be formed.
Oxygen is in a variety of different classes of Organic Compounds, such as Alcohols or Esters. Sulfur, selenium, and tellurium can be substitutions for oxygen in these types of compounds to form their own classes.
Below are some examples:
There are a plethora of metal chalcogenides. Chalcogens can react with Alkali Metals (Group 1), alkali earth metals (Group 2), and Transition Metals (groups 3-12).
The chalcogens also commonly form compounds with group 15 elements (mainly phosphorus (P)). These phosphorus compounds have been used for centuries in a variety of applications, such as insecticides and matches.
A whopping total of 130,000 phosphorus-sulfur, 6,000 phosphorus-selenium, and 350 phosphorus-tellurium compounds have been discovered.
Chalcogens can also bond with other pnictogens, such as bismuth (Bi) and antimony (Sb).
All the chalcogens can react with hydrogen to form hydrides (hydrogen compounds). The general formula for these compounds is EH2, where "E" is a chalcogen.
However, both tellurium hydride (TeH2) and polonium hydride (PoH2) are highly volatile and unstable.
Chalcogens also commonly form compounds with their neighbor group, the Halogens (group 17). These are known as chalcohalides or chalcogen halides.
Many of the simple chalcogen halides are commonly used reagents.
Sulfur tends to form compounds with high numbers of halogens, such as:
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What are chalcogens?
Chalcogens are a group of elements. They are group 16 and also called the "oxygen family".
Where are chalcogens on the periodic table?
Chalcogens are the 16th column on the periodic table
Why is group 16 called chalcogens?
Chalcogen (ore forming) is derived from the words khalkόs (χαλκός) (meaning ore) and genēs meaning born
Why is oxygen known as chalcogens?
Oxygen is the first element in the chalcogens. Because of this, the group is also known as the "oxygen family".
What do chalcogens have in common?
Chalcogens all have 6 valence electrons and have a common oxidation state of -2. They all form compounds with metals, hydrogen, oxygen, halides, and group 15 elements (mainly phosphorus).
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