Question

How many vertical columns are there in the modern periodic table and what are they called?

Answer 1

Hint: All the elements that are situated in the same vertical column generally have the same electronic configuration and hence their chemical reactivity is also the same so the vertical columns are named accordingly. Total number of vertical columns in the periodic table is equal to the total number of electrons that can be filled in $3^{rd}$ shell of the atom.

Complete step by step solution:

Before answering this question in particular, let us refresh our understanding of the Modern Periodic Table.
In modern periodic table, some of the characteristics of Mendeleev’s table were taken into consideration. In the modern table, elements are arranged by increasing atomic number instead of atomic mass. Atomic number is the number of protons in an atom, and this number is unique for each element. Modern periodic tables have many more elements than Mendeleev’s table because many new elements have been discovered since Mendeleev’s time.
The columns of the table represent groups of elements, or families of elements. The elements situated in the same group often look and behave similarly, this happens because they have the same number of electrons in their outermost shell.
Total number of main group elements is eight. The other ten groups are transition metals. Below are the groups and their names with numbers.

- Group 1: alkali metals (lithium family) (Hydrogen not included)
- Group 2: the alkaline earth metals (beryllium family)
- Groups 3-12: the transition metals
- Group 13: the Trials (boron family)
- Group 14: the Tetrels (carbon family)
- Group 15: the Pnictogens (nitrogen family)
- Group 16: the Chalcogens (oxygen family)
- Group 17: the Halogens (fluorine family)
- Group 18: the Noble gases (helium/neon family)
Thus, we can conclude that there are 18 vertical columns in the modern periodic table and these vertical columns are known as groups.

Note: Do not get confused between columns and rows of periodic tables. Columns are called groups and rows are known as periods. Some of the periods do not have 18 elements. It means all the groups will not have the same number of elements present in it. i.e. There are only two elements in the first period.