Chalkboard with description of periodic table notation for Iron.  There is a square with three values in it.  Top has atomic number, center has element symbol, and bottom has atomic mass value.  The atomic number equals number of protons and also the number of electrons in a neutral atom.  Atomic mass equals the mass of the entire atom.

Check out the blackboard. That box on the left has all of the information you need to know about one element. It tells you the mass of one atom, how many pieces are inside, and where it should be placed on the periodic table.

Now we're working with the fourth period/row in the table of elements. You may have an easy way to know the number of electrons in a neutral atom, but the placement of those electrons gets a little more complex. Let's take a look at the arrangements of electrons in the basic elements (left and right sides of the table) of period four and the more complex arrangements of the transition elements (in the middle of the row). If you think this is a little over your head, go back and look at the elements 1-18 that have organizations that are a little more simple.

Electrons In The Shells

Take a look at the picture below. Each of those colored balls is an electron. In an atom, the electrons spin around the center, also called the nucleus. The electrons like to be in separate shells/orbitals. As you learn more about atomic structure, you will learn that the electrons don't stay in defined areas around the nucleus. They are found in clouds that can have different shapes that include spheres and dumbbell-like shapes. So remember when you look at our breakdown that the electrons aren't always in a nice neat order as shown here.

This element is one of the transition elements that doesn't place the additional electrons in the outer shell, but in the one underneath. For the fourth period/row, all of these electrons build the third shell to a maximum of 18 electrons. Remember that the first eight were placed during our trip through the third period/row. The fourth row of the periodic table has transition metals ranging from scandium (21) to zinc (30).

Another transition element and another metal. While you may think of iron as a magnetic metal, not all forms of iron are magnetic. Scientists have found four allotropic forms of iron. Iron continues the pattern of earlier transition elements and adds an electron to the third shell and produces and electron configuration of 2-8-13-2.


Iron Orbital Graphic

► More about the history and places to find iron.
► Next element of the periodic table.



Link to Cosmos4Kids.com Link to Biology4Kids.com Link to Chem4Kids.com Link to Geography4Kids.com Link to Physics4Kids.com Link to NumberNut.com Rader Network Side Navigation





Related Links
- Chem4Kids: Periodic Table
- Chem4Kids: Atoms
- Chem4Kids: Compounds
- Chem4Kids: Transition Metals
- Chem4Kids: Alloys
- Geography4Kids: Composition of Earth
- Geography4Kids: Iron Cycle
- Biology4Kids: Animal Systems

RETURN TO TOP
or
Search for more information...

* The custom search only looks at Rader's sites.

Chem4Kids Sections

Rader's Network of Science and Math Sites