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Trends in chemical properties of the elements in period three

Answer Text:
Trends in chemical properties of the elements in period 3.
Note: Trends in reactivity.
- The reactivity among the metallic elements decreases across the period from sodium to aluminium.
Reason:
- There is a continuous increase in nuclear charge from sodium to aluminium which leads to increase in ionization energies hence increasing difficulty in removing an electron from the outermost energy level.
- Among the non-metallic elements, the reactivity increases across the period from phosphorus to chlorine.
Reason:
- There is increase in nuclear charge from phosphorus to chlorine, hence an increase in ease of electron gain (electro affinity) since non-metals react by gaining electrons.
- Argo is unreactive and can only react under very special conditions.
Reason:
- It’s a noble gas with a stable octet configuration.