Period (periodic table) Period (periodic table) A period in the periodic table is a horizontal row. All elements in a row have the same number of electron shells. Each next element in a period has one more proton and is less metallic than its predecessor. Arranged this way, groups of elements in the same column have similar chemical and physical properties, reflecting the periodic law. For example, the alkali metals lie in the first column (group 1) and share similar properties, such as high reactivity and the tendency to lose one electron to arrive at a noble-gas electronic configuration. As of 2016, a
Periodic table displayed are four simple rectangular areas or blocks associated with the filling of different atomic orbitals. The organization of the periodic table can be used to derive relationships between the various element properties, but also the predicted chemical properties and behaviours of undiscovered or newly synthesized elements. Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev was the first to publish a recognizable periodic table in 1869, developed mainly to illustrate periodic trends of the then-known elements. He also predicted some properties of unidentified elements that were expected to fill gaps within the table. Most of his forecasts proved to be correct. Mendeleev's idea has