Noble Gases
Chemistry: AQA GCSE Higher, topic 1.1.21
Noble Gases (Group 0) - Properties
A noble gas is an element found in Group 0. All noble gases have similar properties, one of which being that they are colourless.
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Inert
- The elements in Group 0 are unreactive because they have a full outer electron shell. They do NOT gain or lose electrons to fill up this shell as it is already full.
- Noble gases can be used in light bulbs because they will NOT react with the hot metal filament.
Monatomic
- Because noble gases are unreactive, they exist as single atoms (monatomic) instead of forming molecules.
Low boiling point
- The noble gases have low boiling points.
- But their boiling points do increase as you move down the periodic table. This is because the relative atomic mass increases lower down the periodic table.
Low density
- The noble gases (in group 0) have low densities.
- Their densities do increase as you move down the periodic table because of their increasing relative atomic mass.
- This low density makes them useful in balloons.
Test yourself on Noble Gases
Which of the following are noble gases?
Why does density increase as we move down Group 0 of the periodic table?
Neon is lower down the periodic table than Helium. So, neon has a....
Why can noble gases be used to fill light bulbs?
Why are zeppelins filled with helium instead of air?