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. In a quantum mechanical description of atomic structure, this period corresponds to the filling of the second () shell, more specifically its 2s and 2p subshells. Period 2 elements (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine and neon) obey the octet rule in that they need eight electrons to complete their valence shell (lithium and beryllium obey duet rule, boron is electron deficient.), where at most eight electrons can be accommodated: two in the 2s orbital and six in the 2p subshell.
Periodic trends
Period 2 is the first period in the periodic table from which periodic trends can be drawn. Period 1, which only contains two elements (hydrogen and helium), is too small to draw any conclusive trends from it, especially because the two elements behave nothing like other s-block elements. Period 2 has much more conclusive trends. For all elements in period 2, as the atomic number increases, the atomic radius of the elements decreases, the electronegativity increases, and the ionization energy increases.
Period 2 only has two metals (lithium and beryllium) of eight elements, less than for any subsequent period both by number and by proportion. It also has the most number of nonmetals, namely five, among all periods. The elements in period 2 often have the most extreme properties in their respective groups; for example, fluorine is the most reactive halogen, neon is the most inert noble gas, and lithium is the least reactive alkali metal.
All period 2 elements completely obey the Madelung rule; in period 2, lithium and beryllium fill the 2s subshell, and boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, and neon fill the 2p subshell. The period shares this trait with periods 1 and 3, none of which contain transition elements or inner transition elements, which often vary from the rule.
| colspan="3" | Chemical element || Block || Electron configuration |-bgcolor="" || 3 || Li || Lithium || s-block || [He] 2s1 |-bgcolor="" || 4 || Be || Beryllium || s-block || [He] 2s2 |-bgcolor="" || 5 || B || Boron || p-block || [He] 2s2 2p1 |-bgcolor="" || 6 || C || Carbon || p-block || [He] 2s2 2p2 |-bgcolor="" || 7 || N || Nitrogen || p-block || [He] 2s2 2p3 |-bgcolor="" || 8 || O || Oxygen || p-block || [He] 2s2 2p4 |-bgcolor="" || 9 || F || Fluorine || p-block || [He] 2s2 2p5 |-bgcolor="" || 10 || Ne || Neon || p-block || [He] 2s2 2p6
Lithium
Lithium (Li) is an alkali metal with atomic number 3, occurring naturally in two isotopes: 6Li and 7Li. The two make up all natural occurrence of lithium on Earth, although further isotopes have been synthesized. In ionic compounds, lithium loses an electron to become positively charged, forming the cation Li+. Lithium is the first alkali metal in the periodic table,Hydrogen is occasionally referred to as an alkali metal, although this is rare. and the first metal of any kind in the periodic table.See note 1. At standard temperature and pressure, lithium is a soft, silver-white, highly reactive metal. With a density of 0.564 g⋅cm−3, lithium is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element.Lithium at WebElements.
Lithium is one of the few elements synthesized in the Big Bang. Lithium is the 31st most abundant element on earth, occurring in concentrations of between 20 and 70 ppm by weight, but due to its high reactivity it is only found naturally in compounds.Kamienski et al. "Lithium and lithium compounds". Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published online 2004.
Lithium salts are used in the pharmacology industry as mood stabilising drugs. They are used in the treatment of bipolar disorder, where they have a role in treating depression and mania and may reduce the chances of suicide. The most common compounds used are lithium carbonate, Li2CO3, lithium citrate, Li3C6H5O7, lithium sulphate, Li2SO4, and lithium orotate, LiC5H3N2O4·H2O. Lithium is also used in batteries as an anode and its alloys with aluminium, cadmium, copper and manganese are used to make high performance parts for aircraft, most notably the external tank of the Space Shuttle.
Beryllium
Beryllium (Be) is the chemical element with atomic number 4, occurring in the form of 9Be. At standard temperature and pressure, beryllium is a strong, steel-grey, light-weight, brittle, bivalent alkaline earth metal, with a density of 1.85 g⋅cm−3.Beryllium at WebElements. It also has one of the highest melting points of all the light metals. Beryllium's most common isotope is 9Be, which contains 4 protons and 5 neutrons. It makes up almost 100% of all naturally occurring beryllium and is its only stable isotope; however other isotopes have been synthesised. In ionic compounds, beryllium loses its two valence electrons to form the cation, Be2+.
Small amounts of beryllium were synthesised during the Big Bang, although most of it decayed or reacted further to create larger nuclei, like carbon, nitrogen or oxygen. Beryllium is a component of 100 out of 4000 known minerals, such as bertrandite, Be4Si2O7(OH)2, beryl, Al2Be3Si6O18, chrysoberyl, Al2BeO4, and phenakite, Be2SiO4. Precious forms of beryl are aquamarine, red beryl and emerald. The most common sources of beryllium used commercially are beryl and bertrandite and production of it involves the reduction of beryllium fluoride with magnesium metal or the electrolysis of molten beryllium chloride, containing some sodium chloride as beryllium chloride is a poor conductor of electricity.
Due to its stiffness, light weight, and dimensional stability over a wide temperature range, beryllium metal is used as a structural material in aircraft, missiles and communication satellites. It is used as an alloying agent in beryllium copper, which is used to make electrical components due to its high electrical and heat conductivity.Standards and properties of beryllium copper. Sheets of beryllium are used in X-ray detectors to filter out visible light and let only X-rays through. It is used as a neutron moderator in nuclear reactors because light nuclei are more effective at slowing down neutrons than heavy nuclei. Beryllium's low weight and high rigidity also make it useful in the construction of tweeters in loudspeakers.Information about beryllium tweeters.
Beryllium and beryllium compounds are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as Group 1 carcinogens; they are carcinogenic to both animals and humans. Chronic berylliosis is a pulmonary and systemic granulomatous disease caused by exposure to beryllium. Between 1% – 15% of people are sensitive to beryllium and may develop an inflammatory reaction in their respiratory system and skin, called chronic beryllium disease or berylliosis. The body's immune system recognises the beryllium as foreign particles and mounts an attack against them, usually in the lungs where they are breathed in. This can cause fever, fatigue, weakness, night sweats and difficulty in breathing.Information about chronic beryllium disease.
Boron
Boron (B) is the chemical element with atomic number 5, occurring as 10B and 11B. At standard temperature and pressure, boron is a trivalent metalloid that has several different allotropes. Amorphous boron is a brown powder formed as a product of many chemical reactions. Crystalline boron is a very hard, black material with a high melting point and exists in many polymorphs: Two rhombohedral forms, α-boron and β-boron containing 12 and 106.7 atoms in the rhombohedral unit cell respectively, and 50-atom tetragonal boron are the most common. Boron has a density of 2.34−3. Boron at WebElements. Boron's most common isotope is 11B at 80.22%, which contains 5 protons and 6 neutrons. The other common isotope is 10B at 19.78%, which contains 5 protons and 5 neutrons.Properties of boron. These are the only stable isotopes of boron; however other isotopes have been synthesised. Boron forms covalent bonds with other nonmetals and has oxidation states of 1, 2, 3 and 4. Boron does not occur naturally as a free element, but in compounds such as borates. The most common sources of boron are tourmaline, borax, Na2B4O5(OH)4·8H2O, and kernite, Na2B4O5(OH)4·2H2O. It is difficult to obtain pure boron. It can be made through the magnesium reduction of boron trioxide, B2O3. This oxide is made by melting boric acid, B(OH)3, which in turn is obtained from borax. Small amounts of pure boron can be made by the thermal decomposition of boron bromide, BBr3, in hydrogen gas over hot tantalum wire, which acts as a catalyst. The most commercially important sources of boron are: sodium tetraborate pentahydrate, Na2B4O7 · 5H2O, which is used in large amounts in making insulating fiberglass and sodium perborate bleach; boron carbide, a ceramic material, is used to make armour materials, especially in bulletproof vests for soldiers and police officers; orthoboric acid, H3BO3 or boric acid, used in the production of textile fiberglass and flat panel displays; sodium tetraborate decahydrate, Na2B4O7 · 10H2O or borax, used in the production of adhesives; and the isotope boron-10 is used as a control for nuclear reactors, as a shield for nuclear radiation, and in instruments used for detecting neutrons.
Boron is an essential plant micronutrient, required for cell wall strength and development, cell division, seed and fruit development, sugar transport and hormone development. However, high soil concentrations of over 1.0 ppm can cause necrosis in leaves and poor growth. Levels as low as 0.8 ppm can cause these symptoms to appear in plants particularly boron-sensitive. Most plants, even those tolerant of boron in the soil, will show symptoms of boron toxicity when boron levels are higher than 1.8 ppm. In animals, boron is an ultratrace element; in human diets, daily intake ranges from 2.1 to 4.3 mg boron/kg body weight (bw)/day. It is also used as a supplement for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and arthritis.
Carbon