What are lanthanides?
Question:
What are lanthanides?
Separate Section of the Table:
Looking at the periodic table of elements, there are two rows of elements located in a separate table below the main table. Each of these rows corresponds to a single space on the main table, either in row six or seven and always in column three. These elements, often called inner transition metals, have unfulfilled f orbitals.
Answer and Explanation: 1
Lanthanides are a group of 15 elements on the periodic table that are characterized by shared characteristics. In addition to being classified as transition metals, lanthanides are naturally occurring, and some are highly reactive when exposed to oxygen. Elements in the lanthanide series are used to make optical lenses and lasers, as magnets in electric cars, and in petroleum mining, among many other uses.
The lanthanide series appears in the top row of the separated section of the periodic table. This means that the lanthanide elements belong to row six, column three of the main table.
Learn more about this topic:
from
Chapter 6 / Lesson 9Lanthanides, or rare earth metals, are a group of 15 chemical elements that are silver in color and can tarnish when exposed to oxygen in the air. Learn more about the definition of lanthanides by exploring their characteristics, properties, and uses, such as coloring ceramics.