Block and Placement
This is the specific block of the periodic table where the inner transition metals are located.
f-Block
Lanthanides are often historically referred to by this common, slightly misleading group name.
Rare Earth Elements
A defining characteristic shared by virtually all actinide elements.
Radioactive
Inner transition elements are heavily utilized to produce bright, high-powered beams in these optical devices
Laser
Like standard transition metals, inner transition metals exhibit this property of having multiple possible charges in chemical reactions
Variable Oxidation states
Inner transition metals are filling up these specific atomic orbitals.
F-Orbitals
Unlike most of their neighbors in the actinide series, almost all lanthanides share this non-hazardous radioactive property
non-radioactives
This actinide (atomic number 92) is the primary fuel source used in nuclear power plants
Uranium
Europium is commonly used to produce the red color in the screens of these traditional electronic displays
Television
Most inner transition metals share this physical appearance, reflecting light well when freshly cut
Silvery-White
The inner transition metals are separated from the main body of the periodic table into these two distinct rows at the bottom.
lanthanide and actinide series
This element with atomic number 57 is the namesake and first member of the lanthanide series
Lanthanum
This man-made actinide (atomic number 94) is famously used in nuclear reactors and atomic weapons
Plutonium
Several lanthanides are mixed into specialized glasses to absorb glare and harmful UV rays in these protective items.
Welding Goggles
Because their valence electrons are buried deep in the f-orbitals, lanthanides display chemistry that is remarkably this (meaning very similar to one another)
Uniform/Homogeneous
Period 6 contains the lanthanides, while Period 7 contains these
actinides
Neodymium is famously combined with iron and boron to create some of the strongest types of these in the world
Permanent Magnets
This actinide (atomic number 95) is safely harnessed inside millions of household smoke detectors.
Americium
Thorium is sometimes added to high-temperature alloys to improve the strength of these aerospace engines
Jet Engines
This only radioactive lanthanide sits at atomic number 61 and breaks the rule that light lanthanides are stable
Promethium
This is the total number of metallic elements that make up the inner transition series (combining both rows)
30 (15 lanthanides and 15 actenides)
This silvery-white lanthanide (atomic number 64) is commonly used as a contrast agent in medical MRI scans.
Gadolinium
All actinides with an atomic number greater than 92 (after uranium) earn this special classification because they do not occur naturally in significant amounts on Earth.
transuranium elements
This synthetic actinide (atomic number 98) is a potent emitter of neutrons and is often used as a portable neutron source for well logging and starting nuclear reactors
Californium
The chemical behavior of the actinides gets increasingly complex and harder to study because many of them are synthetic and suffer from this rapid decay process.
Radioactive Decay/Half Lives