Reactive Nonmetals
This lightest and most abundant element in the universe makes up about 75% of all elemental mass and has the atomic number 1.
What is Hydrogen?
Holding atomic number 3, this soft, silvery alkali metal is widely used today to power your smartphone and electric vehicle batteries.
What is Lithium?
This alkaline earth metal at number 4 is highly toxic, but its alloys are essential for aerospace crafts and military satellites.
What is Beryllium?
Number 5 on the table, this metalloid is commonly used in industrial fiberglass and is a main ingredient in household Borax detergent.
What is Boron?
This second element is a colorless, odorless noble gas that makes your voice high-pitched and keeps party balloons afloat.
What is Helium?
Life on Earth relies on this element at number 6, which forms the basis of all organic chemistry and can exist as both graphite and diamond.
What is Carbon?
This highly reactive alkali metal at number 11 is a key component of table salt and causes a violent yellow flame when exposed to water.
What is Sodium?
Squeezing in at number 12, this lightweight alkaline earth metal burns with an blindingly bright white light and is essential for plant chlorophyll.
What is Magnesium?
Rounding out the top 10 is this unreactive noble gas, famous for casting a bright reddish-orange glow in commercial advertising signs.
What is Neon?
Making up roughly 78% of the Earth's atmosphere, this gas sits at number 7 on the chart.
What is Nitrogen?
This highly reactive gas at atomic number 8 is a necessity for human cellular respiration and fills our lungs with every breath.
What is Oxygen?
At number 9, this pale yellow halogen gas is the most chemically reactive and electronegative element on the entire periodic table.
What is Fluorine?