Noble Gases: Trends and Patterns

On the right hand column of the periodic table, you will see elements in group 0. These are called noble gases and all of them are non-reactive or inert.

The elements considered noble gasses are:

• Helium (He)
• Neon (Ne)
• Argon (Ar)
• Krypton (Kr)
• Xenon (Xe)
• Radon (Rn)
• Oganesson (Og)

The nobel gases have high ionization energy and very low electron affinity. Because of this, they considered non-reactive. With the exception of helium, the noble gases all have s and p electron coverings and are unable to easily create chemical compounds.

Shared Patterns

Noble gases all have similar properties that include:

• They are all considered non-metals.
• They are all colorless.
• They are all monatomic.
• They are all non-reactive.

Because they are non-reactive and chemically inert, the noble gases have the largest ionization energies.

Noble Gases: Trends

Noble gases also have shared trends that change (either increasing or decreasing) as you move down the noble gas column of the periodic table.

1. 1
   The noble gases have weak van Der Waals forces within their atoms

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   This is because the atoms increase in size moving down the column.

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2. 2
   As non-metals, the noble gases have low boiling points

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   The boiling points increase moving down the column.

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3. 3
   Atomic mass increases moving down the column

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4. 4
   The density of the noble gases also changes moving down the column

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   Helium has the lowest density while Radon is the densest gas. This increase relates to the increase in atomic mass moving down the column.

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5. 5
   The increase of interatomic forces moving down the column also increases the melting point of each gas moving down the column

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6. 6
   Because of the electron covering on all the noble gases except helium, their electrons generally remain the same

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7. 7
   As the radius increases moving down the column the potential for ionization decreases

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   This is because the electrons in bigger noble gases are located away from the nucleus and held less tightly by the atom.

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8. 8
   Compared to other elements, the noble gases have very low boiling and melting points

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Noble Gases: Trends and Patterns. (2017). In ScienceAid. Retrieved Sep 24, 2023, from https://scienceaid.net/Noble_Gases:_Trends_and_Patterns

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