As in: Helium is a gas but Lithium is a metal, even though they’re right next to each other on the Periodic table.
Or: Carbon is a gas but Silicon is a mineral, even though their chemical behavior is exceedingly similar due to their similar position (on different rows) of the table?
In: Chemistry
It also has to with how strong the attractive forces between the molecules are. Weaker forces means gas and you can go from there. Why the forces are the strength they are has to with certain factors like size and the number of electrons in their valence shell. However, very elements exist in their pure state naturally because generally it’s a higher energy state and much less stable than forming bonds with other atoms and producing chemical compounds.
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