Tennessine 17 in the periodic table, below the five halogens; fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine, each of which has seven valence electrons with a configuration of . For tennessine, being in the seventh period (row) of the periodic table, continuing the trend would predict a valence electron configuration of , and it would therefore be expected to behave similarly to the halogens in many respects that relate to this electronic state. However, going down group 17, the metallicity of the elements increases; for example, iodine already exhibits a metallic luster in the solid state, and astatine is often classified as
Origin and use of the term metalloid their ability to form oxyanions. A common oxyanion of sulfur, for example, is the sulfate ion SO. Many metals can do the same. Chromium, for instance, can form the chromate ion CrO. Berzelius' terminology was widely adopted although it was subsequently regarded by some commentators as counterintuitive, misapplied, incorrect or invalid. In 1825, in a revised German edition of his "Textbook of Chemistry," Berzelius subdivided the metalloids into three classes. These were: constantly gaseous 'gazolyta' (hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen); real metalloids (sulfur, phosphorus, carbon, boron, silicon); and salt-forming 'halogenia' (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine). In 1844, Jackson gave the meaning of 'metalloid'