Period 2 element Period 2 element A period 2 element is one of the chemical elements in the second row (or period) of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behavior of the elements as their atomic number increases; a new row is started when chemical behavior begins to repeat, creating columns of elements with similar properties. The second period contains the elements lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, and neon. This situation can be explained by modern theories of atomic structure. In a quantum mechanical
Block (periodic table) the s-block, with its outer (and only) electrons in the 1s atomic orbital, although its chemical properties are more similar to the p-block noble gases due to its full shell. In addition to the blocks listed in this table, there is a hypothetical g-block which is not pictured here. The g-block elements can be seen in the expanded extended periodic table. Lanthanum and actinium are placed under scandium and yttrium to reflect their status as d-block elements, as they have no electrons in the 4f and 5f orbitals, respectively, while lutetium and lawrencium do. The s-block is on the left