What is the Periodic Table?
The periodic table arranges the elements by their atomic number. It is organized in such a way so that elements with similar properties are grouped together. This organization makes it easy to find and identify both elements that we are familiar with and ones that we have yet to discover. Each row on the periodic table is called a "period". Each column is called a "family". From bottom left to top right, elements will be more metallic in nature. The heavy line (indicated in the picture below as the boundary between red and green) on the periodic table that looks like a staircase separates metals from the non-metals. Most of the elements (about 80%) are to the left of this line, and all of them excluding hydrogen are metallic in nature. The elements that are positioned on the line are called semi-metals or metalloids. (Metalloids: Boron, Silicon, Germanium, Antimony, Tellurium, Polonium, and Astatine.)