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Periods and Groups

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State

A period is a horizontal row of the periodic table; a group is a vertical column whose elements share similar chemical properties.

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Sodium and potassium sit in the same group, group 1, though sodium is in period 3 and potassium is in period 4.

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IUPAC's 1-through-18 group numbering has replaced the older Roman-numeral American labeling system still seen on some tables.