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
Periodic table atomic number gives a definitive, integer-based sequence for the elements. Moseley predicted, in 1913, that the only elements still missing between aluminium (Z=13) and gold (Z=79) were Z = 43, 61, 72, and 75, all of which were later discovered. The atomic number is the absolute definition of an element, and gives a factual basis for the ordering of the periodic table. The periodic table is used to predict the properties of new synthetic elements before they are produced and studied. In 1871, Mendeleev published his periodic table in a new form, with groups of similar elements arranged in columns