Block (periodic table) side of the periodic table and includes elements from the first two columns, the alkali metals (group 1) and alkaline earth metals (group 2), plus hydrogen and helium. Helium can be placed in the second group of s block as well as the 18th group of p-block, but most scientists consider it to rest at the top of group 18 i.e. above neon (atomic number 10) as it has many properties similar to the group 18 elements.General valance configration is ns1-2 Most s-block elements are highly reactive metals due to the ease with which their outer s-orbital electrons interact to
History of the periodic table managed to get thallium, lead, mercury and platinum into the right groups, which is something that Mendeleev failed to do at his first attempt. Odling failed to achieve recognition, however, since it is suspected that he, as Secretary of the Chemical Society of London, was instrumental in discrediting Newlands' earlier work on the periodic table. By 1912 almost 50 different radioactive elements had been found, too many for the periodic table. Frederick Soddy in 1913 found that although they emitted different radiation, many elements were alike in their chemical characteristics so shared the same place on the table. They became