[header] How to study the chemical properties of transition metals [title] Locate the transition metals on the periodic table. [step] The transition metals are a set of 38 elements located in groups three through twelve (sometimes written as group iia and group iib) on the periodic table. These metals are further subdivided into three groups based on the row of the periodic table they are located. 
[substeps] The most commonly studied transition metals are the first row transition metals. They begin on the left side with scandium and end on the right side with zinc.