Chapter 4: Problem 25

Why are the lanthanides and actinides placed at the bottom of the periodic table?

Short Answer

Expert verified

The lanthanides and actinides are placed at the bottom of the periodic table because they have different electron filling orders and to maintain the table's usability and structure.

Step by step solution

Understand the Periodic Table Structure

The Periodic Table is a tabular arrangement of chemical elements, organized based on their atomic number, electron configuration, and recurring chemical properties. Elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number, which is the total number of protons in an atom's nucleus.

Identify the Lanthanides and Actinides

Lanthanides and actinides are two series of elements. The lanthanides are the 15 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71, from lanthanum through lutetium. The actinides are the 15 metallic elements with atomic numbers 89 through 103, from actinium through lawrencium.

Recognize the Placement Reason

The lanthanides and actinides are placed separately at the bottom of the periodic table because they have different electron filling orders compared to the other elements. Design-wise, including them in the main body of the periodic table would make it unduly wide. Therefore, to maintain the table's usability and overall structure, these two series are placed separately below.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

Full Textbook Solutions
Get detailed explanations and key concepts
Unlimited Al creation
Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...
Ads-free access
To over 500 millions flashcards
Money-back guarantee
We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Why are the lanthanides and actinides placed at the bottom of the periodic table?

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Understand the Periodic Table Structure

Identify the Lanthanides and Actinides

Recognize the Placement Reason

One App. One Place for Learning.

Most popular questions from this chapter

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

Physical Chemistry

Inorganic Chemistry

Chemical Analysis

Chemistry Branches

Ionic and Molecular Compounds

Nuclear Chemistry

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.