Introduction

This free course focuses on the chemistry of the p-block elements in Groups 13 to 18 of the Periodic Table. The periodicity in the chemistry of these elements will become apparent and any remarkable effects, such as the so-called inert pair effect, will be highlighted.

The approach adopted illustrates how main-Group chemistry is important in everyday life. This course covers the water that you drink. For instance, a high level of certain anions in water can cause environmental pollution and health problems and are therefore regulated by several EU Directives. Cations are also important, for example calcium salts contribute to the hardness of water and water treatment uses aluminium compounds.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course S215 Chemistry: essential concepts .