Question

1. looking only at the box below, what can you say for certain about the element immediately to the right of oxygen on the periodic table?

the elements atomic weight will be 18.
the elements name will begin with the letter p.
the element will have atomic number 9.
the element is a gas.

Explanation:

• In the periodic table, elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number. Oxygen has an atomic number of 8. The element immediately to the right of oxygen will have an atomic number of \(8 + 1=9\).
• Atomic weight is not simply determined by position in this basic way (it depends on protons, neutrons). Just because of position, we can't be sure of the name starting with a particular letter. Also, we can't be certain it's a gas just from the position relative to oxygen in this simple analysis.

Answer:

The element will have atomic number 9.