How many transition metals are there

I think I found quite a strict yet simple definition that is also aligned with the IUPAC's one, and allowing to actually count the transition elements [1, p. Any of a number of elements in which the filling of the outermost shell to eight electrons within a period is interrupted to bring the penultimate shell from 8 to 18 or 32 electrons.

Only these elements can use penultimate shell orbitals as well as outermost shell orbitals in bonding. Transition elements include elements 21 through 29 scandium through copper , 39 through 47 ytterbium through silver , 57 through 79 lanthanum through gold , and all known elements from 89 actinium on. All are metals. Many are noted for exhibiting a variety of oxidation states and forming numerous complex ions, as well as possessing extremely valuable properties in the metallic state.

Following this definition, there are nine transition elements in 3d-series, nine in 4d-series, 23 in 5d-series including lanthanoids, the inner transition elements and [currently] 30 in 6d-series provided there are elements and oganesson is the heaviest known element , totaling 71 transition elements :.

Adapted from Periodic table, not highlighted. The term "transition" has a geometric origin. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. How many transition elements are there?

Ask Question. Asked 1 year, 10 months ago. Active 3 months ago. Viewed 2k times. Improve this question. So, they contain atoms from Sc to Zn, and the same in the next lines. Why isn't Sc or Y transition element? In this ion there is no electron in d orbital. For this reason, Sc and Y is not transition element. It is a very rare element, having an abundance of about 1 ppb in the Earth's crust. Platinum was mined and worked by Native Americans in South America as far back as years ago. Platinum is considered one of the precious metals because of its rarity, stability, high melting point, and high luster.

In organic synthesis, platinum is used to catalyze the reactions of alkenes which contain carbon-carbon double bonds to alkanes which contain only carbon-carbon single bonds.

Cisplatin, PtCl 2 NH 3 2 , also known as Platinol, Peyrone's chloride, and more formally as cis -diamminedichloroplatinum II , is used in the chemotherapeutic treatment of some cancers. It works by attaching itself to sections of DNA which contain two guanine units next to each other; since it affects healthy cells as well as cancer cells, it causes a number of side effects, but many of these effects can be treated with other medications.

Hassium is a synthetic element, produced by the cold fusion of lead and iron The longest-lived isotope, hassium, was recently reported story to have a half-life of 30 seconds, which is considerably more stable than many of the transuranic elements..

Meitnerium is a synthetic element, produced by the cold fusion of bismuth and iron The longest-lived isotope, meitnerium, has a half-life of 0. It was first produced at the GSI in Darmstadt, Germany, in , and was named after Lise Meitner, the Austrian physicist who was a member of the research team that first observed nuclear fission in uranium, and was the first to recognize that the results of their experiment indicated that fission had taken place.

Darmstadtium is a synthetic element, produced by the bombardment of lead with nickel The longest-lived isotope, darmstadtium, has a half-life of milliseconds. It was first produced at the GSI in Darmstadt, Germany, in , and was named for the city in which is was first produced. The Group 1B elements Group 11 in the IUPAC designation have the electron configuration n -1 d 10 ns 1 , instead of the expected n -1 d 9 ns 2 ; since in d 9 s 2 configuration the d orbitals are one electron away from being completely filled, an electron from the s orbital occupies a d orbital instead, leaving one electron in the valence shell.

The elements in this group are sometimes referred to as "coinage metals" because they have historically been used in coins, although other metals besides the ones in Group 1B have been used in coins as well. Copper is a malleable, ductile, reddish-brown metal.

Its name is derived from the Old English name coper , which is in turn derived from the Latin word cuprum for "from the island of Cyprus," which was the leading supplier of copper in the Mediterranean area at the time of the Roman empire. The symbol "Cu" is derived from cuprum. Copper is not an extremely common element in the Earth's crust, having a concentration of only 50 ppm in the Earth's crust making it the 26th most abundant element , but it is relatively easy to obtain because it is highly concentrated in its ores.

Copper artifacts have been found which date back to about 10, years ago; the refining of copper ores started at around BC. However, copper is a soft metal, and is not unsuitable for making tools and weapons. The Bronze Age began in around BC when it was discovered that copper could be alloyed with tin at a ratio of about two parts copper to one part tin to make bronze ; the resulting alloy was much stronger, and was capable of holding an edge.

Copper is a good conductor of heat and electricity, and is used extensively in electrical wiring. For this usage, it must be extremely pure, because trace amounts of other metal decrease the electrical conductivity and increase the amount of resistance in copper wiring. Copper is further refined in an electrochemical process, in which impure copper is used at the anode of the electrolytic cell, and a sheet of very pure copper is used as the cathode.

Copper was widely used to make cookware such as pans and kettles, but this use is less common now because of widely available cheaper cookware made of aluminum or stainless steel. Many high-quality pots and pans are made with copper bottoms, which distributes the heat from the stovetop quickly and evenly throughout the pan.

Because copper resists corrosion by water, air, and most acids except for concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids , it is ideal for making coins. The US one-cent piece, the penny, used to be made from solid copper or copper alloyed with tin, nickel, or zinc but due to the increasing cost of copper, this was replaced in with a coin made from a zinc core surrounded by a thin copper plating about 2.

The US Sacajawea dollar coin, first issued in November of is also made primarily of copper Copper is also widely used in plumbing and water pipelines, motors and generators, circuitry and computer chips, household fixtures, kitchen utensils, dinnerware such as sterling silver, which consists of silver alloyed with 7.

Copper is also widely used in statuary. The Statue of Liberty is made of The Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was a foot bronze statue of the Greek god Helios on the island of Rhodes which stood at the mouth of the Mandraki harbor entrance; it was completed in BC and destroyed by an earthquake in BC.

Copper is used to make several important metal alloys. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, which is addition to being harder than copper can be polished to a high, golden luster. Gunmetal also known as red brass is an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc which is strong enough to make guns and cannons. Cupronickel also called Monel metal is an alloy of copper and nickel commonly used in coins, such as the US 5-cent piece, and in shipbuilding.

Alloys of copper and nickel are also used in desalination plants and underwater pumps because it resists corrosion by sea water. This material, sometimes called blue vitrol, is used in fungicides and algicides, and in ink pigments. Copper II chloride, CuCl 2 , is used as a dye fixer in the textile industry. Copper II acetate, Cu C 2 H 3 O 2 2 , also known as verdigris, forms as copper is exposed to air and seawater over long periods of time; it is widely used as a green pigment in oil paintings.

Copper is essential in the diet because it is a part of several enzymes in the body, such as cyctochrome c oxidase, which is required for energy production. Copper is plentiful in foods such as seafood especially shellfish , lamb, duck, pork, and beef, almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, and bran. The minimum amount of copper needed in the diet is around 1.

Some mollusks such as oysters and some arthropods such as the horseshoe crab use hemocyanin to carry oxygen to their cells. In this protein complex, a copper I ion is held in place by histidine groups; molecular oxygen complexes with the copper ion to form a blue copper II -oxygen complex.

In Star Trek , Vulcan blood was green because it was copper-based. Silver is a soft, ductile, malleable, silvery duh metal. The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for the metal, siolfur ; its chemical symbol, Ag, is derived from the Latin name for silver, argentum. Silver is a fairly rare element, having a concentration of 70 ppb in the Earth's crust, making it the 66th most abundant element.

However, most silver is obtained as a by-product from the refining of other metals. Silver was known in many ancient civilizations, but since is not obtained from the ground as the pure metal, it has not been used for as long as gold has been. Silver was first mined around BC, and was extensively used in coins, although silver coins are too soft to be very durable. Silver is the metal which is most conductive to electricity and heat, which makes is extremely important in the electronics industry.

The metal is extremely malleable and ductile — one gram of silver can be drawn into a wire nearly two kilometers long. Silver is is stable to water and oxygen, but forms silver sulfide, Ag 2 S, when it is exposed to sulfur compounds in the air; this forms a black coating tarnish on the silver, which requires regular cleaning.

Silver is considered one of the precious metals because of its rarity, stability, high melting point, and high luster. Silver is widely used in the electronics industry in switches, circuits, and electronic devices such as computer keyboards. It is also used in cutlery, jewelry, and mirrors.

Amalgams of silver, tin, and mercury are used by dentists to fill cavities. Silver iodide is used in used to seed clouds to encourage rainfall. Colloidal silver is a suspension of silver used in "alternative" medicine as a antibiotic. However, prolonged use, or overdoses, of colloidal silver can lead to a condition called argyria , in which silver becomes deposited in tissues throughout the body, causing the skin to become bluish-gray.

Although this is not harmful in itself, it is disfiguring, and it may not be possible to reverse the condition. Gold is a soft, malleable, yellow metal. It is an extremely rare element, having a concentration of 1 ppb in the Earth's crust, making it the 73rd most abundant element. The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon language, while the chemical symbol "Au" is derived from the Latin name for the metal, aurum "shining dawn".

It is often found as the free element as nuggets or grains, and in alluvial deposits, and is associated with some sulfide ores, and is also found in the mineral sylvanite [silver gold telluride, Ag,Au Te 2 ]. Gold has been used by humans for thousands of years. The desire for gold encouraged the ancient alchemists to try to figure out how to make the "Philosopher's Stone" that would enable them to transmute base metals such as lead into gold.

Rowling , they did accumulate a lot of empirical observations that led to the development of the science of chemistry. Gold is extremely unreactive: the only acids that dissolve gold are aqua regia "king of waters," a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid and nitric acid , and selenic acid, H 2 SeO 4.

Gold extremely malleable and ductile: one gram of gold can be beaten out to make a thin film that is one square meter in area and 50 nanometers in thickness. Gold is also a very good electrical conductor, making it useful in electrical connections. The oceans contain roughly 10 million tons of gold, but it is at such a low concentration — about 10 parts per thousand — that is impractical to try to extract it.

Like silver, gold is considered one of the precious metals because of its rarity and stability. Thin films of gold are used in some large buildings to reflect away heat; the Mylar film that coats the skins of some spacecraft is also covered in gold foil for the same reason.

The purity of gold is measured in units called karats. Pure gold is 24 karat. Gold in jewelry is often alloyed with silver or copper, with a small amount of zinc to harden it. Gold salts are used in some treatments for arthritis, when non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs do not work.

Because there are side effects from having gold build up in the body, this kind of treatment can only be used for a few years. Gold is also used in dentistry to fill cavities and make crowns; the gold is alloyed with silver, palladium, and zinc to harden the amalgam.

Over 60 tons of gold per year are used in this fashion. Roentgenium is a synthetic element, produced by the bombardment of bismuth with nickel The longest-lived isotope, roentgenium, has a half-life of 3. Zinc is a fairly hard, bluish-white metal. The name is derived from the German word for the metal, zink , which may in turn have originated from the Persian word for stone, sing.

It is found in the Earth's crust at a concentration of 75 ppm, making it the 24th most abundant element. Zinc compounds were known for many thousands of years, and were used in medical treatments.

Zinc metal was refined in India as far back as BC, and was used in making brass by mixing copper with zinc ores such as calamine, but it was not recognized as an element until the mid's. Zinc tarnishes in the air to form a coating of zinc oxide. Zinc is the fourth most commonly used metal, after iron, aluminum, and copper. Its main use is used to coat "galvanize" iron or steel, forming a protective layer which is preferentially oxidized instead of the iron.

Since , the US one-cent piece has been made of primarily zinc about Zinc forms the anode component of dry cell and alkaline batteries; although they are not rechargeable, they are still commonly used because they are cheap. Zinc oxide, ZnO, is a white, insoluble powder used in white paints and watercolors, and pharmaceutical ointments, such as diaper rash medications and calamine lotion, a mixture of zinc and iron oxides. Zinc oxide is used in some sunscreens and sunblocks to protect the skin against damaging UV-B rays.

Zinc sulfide, ZnS, is used as a white pigment in fluorescent paints, and is combined with barium sulfide to make a white pigment called lithophone; it is also used in scintillation detectors because it emits light when excited by X-rays or electrons. Zinc dichromate, ZnCr 2 O 7 , is an orange-red pigment. Zinc chromate, ZnCrO 4 , is a brilliant yellow pigment. Zinc is non-toxic, and is an essential nutrient in the diet, because it is used in many proteins and enzymes in the body.

A particularly important one is carbonic anhydrase, which is responsible for the transport of carbon dioxide in vertebrates. Foods that are rich in zinc include oysters, red meat, herring, beans, nuts, cheeses, whole grain and whole grain breads, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, maple syrup, and bran.

Cadmium is a soft, malleable, silvery metal. It names comes from the Greek word cadmia , the ancient Greek name for calamine, a mineral of zinc carbonate ZnCO 3 ; cadmium was first observed as an impurity in some calamine ores. It is found in the ores greenockite [cadmium sulfide, CdS], cadmoselite [cadmium selenide, CdSe], and otavite [cadmium carbonate, CdCO 3 ], but it is usually obtained as a by-product from the mining of zinc ores.

Cadmium is used for electroplating steel, which is especially useful in preventing corrosion in ocean-going vessels, and in the manufacture of bearings. It main use in nickel-cadmium NiCad batteries, where it serves as the anode see also the entry for Nickel above.

Cadmium can absorb neutrons, and is used in the control rods that regulate nuclear reactions in fission power plants. Cadmium compounds are used in paint pigments to produce a wide variety of intense colors, such as cadmium yellow cadmium sulfide, CdS and cadmium red cadmium selenide, CdSe.

Small amounts of cadmium are can be eliminated by the body, but it can accumulate in the liver and kidneys. Exposure to large amounts of cadmium is toxic, in part because it interferes with the action of zinc-containing enzymes.

Mercury is a very dense, heavy, silver-white metal that is a liquid at room temperature. Mercury is also known as "quicksilver. In many respect, mercury is an unusual metal. It is the only commonly encountered metal that is a liquid at room temperature, having a melting point of When frozen, mercury looks and feels like lead.

It has a boiling point of It also has a very high density, of Mercury is a poor conductor of heat, but a good conductor of electricity. It has a high coefficient of expansion, and expands and contracts even with changes in temperature. This, combined with the fact that it does not adhere to glass much, makes mercury an ideal liquid for measuring devices such as thermometers, barometers, and sphygmomanometers blood-pressure meters. Mercury forms alloys with a number of metals; these are usually referred to as amalgams.

Mercury compounds, in the form of cinnabar and other ores, have been used for thousands of years. Metallic mercury has been known since at least BC. Some alchemists believed that mercury was the key to figuring out how to transform base metals into gold, but these investigations proved fruitless at least from the perspective of actually making gold.

Mercury, in the form of mercury II oxide, MgO, is used in small zinc-mercury "button" batteries that are used in hearing aids and other small devices. Mercury is also used in fluorescent lighting, electrical switches, and dental amalgams usually with silver and tin, although modern amalgams often replace mercury with copper.

Zinc and cadmium also can form diatomic univalent cations [i. Mercury I chloride, Hg 2 Cl 2 , also known as calomel, is a heavy white powder, which used to be used as a diuretic and laxative. It is not very soluble in water, so very little of the mercury is absorbed by the body, but since mercury accumulates in the body, the effects of mercury toxicity can build up after a while. It was also used as a fungicide and insecticide, and as a treatment for syphilis.

Mercury II sulfide, HgS, also known as vermillion, is found in the minerals cinnabar and metacinnabar. It has a distinct reddish color used in some paint pigments.

Some of the pigments found in cave paintings dating back to 30, years ago contain mercury II sulfide. Chemistry companies are among the largest investors in research and development. We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features, and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Apr 02, Read time: 1 minute Blog Post.

The transition metals are also paramagnetic. Most of the transition metals can bind to ligands.