While looking at calcium (Ca) on the periodic table, a student needs to find an element with a greater atomic mass in the same period. Where should the student look?

Question

directly up
directly down
directly to the left
directly to the right

Answer 1

To find an element with a greater atomic mass in the same period as calcium (Ca), the student should look directly to the right.

In the periodic table, elements are arranged in periods (rows) and groups (columns). As you move from left to right across a period, the atomic mass generally increases. Calcium is in Period 4, and the elements to the right of calcium in this period include scandium (Sc), titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn), all of which have greater atomic masses than calcium.