What is the position of hydrogen in the periodic table? [duplicate]








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[Why are there two Hydrogen atoms on some periodic tables?](/questions/164/why-are-there-two-hydrogen-atoms-on-some-periodic-tables)

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Hydrogen is not in the first group as it was before and it is now placed above the periodic table? So why is it still categorized as a metal in some books?




There is a lot that could be said about this question, but a simple explanation goes like this:


* Some periodic tables categorize hydrogen as a metal (or at least an alkali metal) because it has one electron in its outermost orbital - just like Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, etc., which are obviously metals.
* Other authors of chemistry textbooks realize that hydrogen seems to love the gas-phase so much over the solid phase that it just doesn't make sense to call it a metal, irrespective of what atomic orbital pattern may tell us.


Hence the differences between authors of texts and where they put Hydrogen on their periodic table.


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