Why does the periodic table usually place hydrogen h apart from the rest of the elements?

Answer 1

You probably wonder why hydrogen belongs to the first group while the second element, helium, in the Periodic Table belongs the last group. Well the answer is easy since the very structure of the periodic table is based on the fact that the elements are arranged according to their chemical properties. That's why hydrogen is placed in the first group i. e. the first column of the periodic table and helium is placed in the last. The reason for why elements have certain properties was not known by the time since these depend on their atomic structure which wasn't explained until much later. By the way the rows in the periodic table are called periods i e each row repeat the same properties for each table column(group) which creates the periodicity.

The very Idea of putting the elements into a table occurred to its inventor when he observed that the chemical properties of some elements matched each other and that was the reason to put them in the same table column(group). However the foremost property that determines the order of the elements is their weight(mass).

As a consequence of this ordering of elements into a table according to their weight and similar properties there appeared gaps or table positions(cells) that were empty. These gaps were interpreted as elements not yet discovered and that led to a dedicated search for these missing elements. Now that they knew what properties and weights to look for in the yet undiscovered elements the search could be done systematically since they knew what to look for.

Answer 2

It isn't - it just looks that way. If you look carefully at the periodic table, you will see that the first period consists of two elements, hydrogen and helium. This period has only two members because the innermost shell in which electrons can orbit only has room for two members. It looks as if hydrogen is all alone because there are 16 blank spaces between it and helium. The next shell has room for eight electrons, so period two has eight members. You will see lithium and beryllium on the left, then 10 blank spaces before you see boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine and neon on the right. Period three also has eight members, and again they are printed two members, 10 spaces, six more elements. Period four has 18 members; they are printed in a plain straight line without spaces. Now we can see the reason for the spaces in the first three periods; they allow us to put elements with similar properties ( elements in the same Group ) to be placed directly above /below each other. This is a helping hand from the scientist who wrote this particular version of the table (aided and abetted by the typesetter) to make it easier to see the relationships between the elements. p.s. Congratulations on a very perceptive question.

Answer 3

Hi im doing my chemistry review and the answer is because it cannot be found on earth as a gas.

Good luck.

Answer 4

it is placed seperately because it is the lightest element because it has only one atom.

Answer 5

hydrogen has different properties from the other elements

Answer 6

because hydrogen is special.

it has only one atom.

Answer 7

Hydrogen has one electron which it may gain or lose to achieve stability. Hence it is placed apart from periodic table.

Answer 8

it has one electron

Answer 9

because it has one atom