The Periodic Table (SPM)

The Periodic Table is the single most useful sheet in SPM Chemistry, because it tells you an element’s proton number, its electron arrangement, and its position by group and period all at once. In the exam you are given a Periodic Table, so the skill being tested is reading it correctly, not memorising it. This reference sets out the data you actually use, arranged the way the DSKP expects, so you can practise pulling out the right numbers quickly.

Scope note

The table below holds standard KSSM reference data, the first 20 elements plus the group names you must recognise. This is the scope the DSKP expects for Form 4 Chemistry: you read proton number, electron arrangement, group and period from it, and you use the group position to predict properties. The relative atomic masses shown are the exam-provided values used in mole calculations.

The first 20 elements

Proton number	Element	Symbol	Relative atomic mass	Electron arrangement	Group	Period
1	Hydrogen	H	1	1	1	1
2	Helium	He	4	2	18	1
3	Lithium	Li	7	2.1	1	2
4	Beryllium	Be	9	2.2	2	2
5	Boron	B	11	2.3	13	2
6	Carbon	C	12	2.4	14	2
7	Nitrogen	N	14	2.5	15	2
8	Oxygen	O	16	2.6	16	2
9	Fluorine	F	19	2.7	17	2
10	Neon	Ne	20	2.8	18	2
11	Sodium	Na	23	2.8.1	1	3
12	Magnesium	Mg	24	2.8.2	2	3
13	Aluminium	Al	27	2.8.3	13	3
14	Silicon	Si	28	2.8.4	14	3
15	Phosphorus	P	31	2.8.5	15	3
16	Sulfur	S	32	2.8.6	16	3
17	Chlorine	Cl	35.5	2.8.7	17	3
18	Argon	Ar	40	2.8.8	18	3
19	Potassium	K	39	2.8.8.1	1	4
20	Calcium	Ca	40	2.8.8.2	2	4

The group names you must know

Group	Name	Typical members	Key feature
1	Alkali metals	Li, Na, K	One valence electron; reactivity increases down the group
2	Alkaline earth metals	Be, Mg, Ca	Two valence electrons; form 2+ ions
17	Halogens	F, Cl, Br, I	Seven valence electrons; reactivity decreases down the group
18	Noble gases	He, Ne, Ar	Stable, full valence shell; unreactive

How to read the table in the exam

The group number tells you the number of valence electrons (for Groups 1, 2 and 13 to 18), and that in turn tells you the ion an element forms and how it bonds. The period number tells you the number of occupied electron shells. Reading down a group, you meet the reactivity trends the exam loves: alkali metals become more reactive down Group 1, while halogens become less reactive down Group 17, because of how easily the outer shell gains or loses an electron. Reading across a period, you move from metals on the left to non-metals on the right.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Confusing group and period. Group is the vertical column; period is the horizontal row.
• Reading the reactivity trend the wrong way. Group 1 reactivity increases downward; Group 17 reactivity decreases downward.
• Forgetting that the transition metals sit between Groups 2 and 13 and are not counted when you name valence electrons from the main-group number.
• Using the wrong relative atomic mass in a mole calculation because a value was misread from the table.

How we help

Reading the Periodic Table quickly and correctly is a habit, and our online one-to-one teachers drill it with you until placing an element and predicting its ion is automatic. Lessons are taught in English, one to one, from RM50 per hour, with a paid one-hour trial so you can see the approach first. Once you can read this table fluently, chemical bonding, the reactivity of Group 1 and Group 17, and every mole calculation in Form 4 become far easier, because the numbers you need are already at your fingertips.