Nitrogen group

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Pnictogen)

Group	15
Period
2	7 N
3	15 P
4	33 As
5	51 Sb
6	83 Bi
7	115 Uup

The Nitrogen group elements (a.k.a. group VA) are also known as IUPAC Group 15 (formerly Group V) of the periodic table.

This group has the defining characteristic that all the component elements have 5 electrons in their outermost shell, that is 2 electrons in the s subshell and 3 unpaired electrons in the p subshell. They are therefore 3 electrons short of filling their outermost electron shell in their non-ionized state. The most important element of this group is nitrogen (N), which in its diatomic form is the principal component of air.

Other members of the group include phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi) and ununpentium (Uup) (unconfirmed).

The collective name pnicogens (now also spelled pnictogens) is also sometimes used for elements of this group, with binary compounds being called pnictides, but neither term is approved by IUPAC. Both spellings are said to derive from the Greek πνίγειν (pnigein), to choke or stifle, which is a property of nitrogen; they are also mnemonic for the two commonest members, P and N.

**Explanation of above periodic table slice:**
Nonmetals	Metalloids	Poor metals	atomic number in red are gases	atomic number in black are solids	solid borders are primordial elements (older than the Earth)	dotted borders are radioactive, synthetic elements

Image:Nuvola apps edu science.png

This chemistry article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Periodic tables
Standard table \| Vertical table \| Table with names \| Names and atomic masses (large) \| Names and atomic masses (small) \| Names and atomic masses (text only) \| Inline F-block \| Elements to 218 \| Electron configurations \| Metals and nonmetals \| Table by blocks \| Alternatives
Lists of elements
Name \| Atomic symbol \| Atomic number \| Boiling point \| Melting point \| Density \| Atomic mass
Groups: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18
Periods: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9
Series: Alkalis - Alkaline earths - Lanthanides - Actinides - Transition metals - Poor metals - Metalloids - Nonmetals - Halogens - Noble gases
Blocks: s-block - p-block - d-block - f-block - g-block