Wikipedia:WikiProject Elements/Legends

Category

This section has been deprecated; due to the bewildering variety of slightly different categories in the literature and disagreement on their boundaries, a strict scheme based on blocks has been adopted as of January 2021.

Note: as of 17 August 2013, the English wikipedia has changed categorisation and background colors of nonmetal elements. Below is the new categorisation scheme. Differences are about these old categories: "other nonmetal", "halogen", "post-transition metals"

Nonmetals are subdevided in diatomic nonmetals, polyatomic nonmetals (and noble gases, unchanged). The category other/poor metals is renamed into post-transition metals without further changes. This is the new scheme:

Metal Metalloid
#cccc99 Nonmetal unknown chemical properties
#e8e8e8
^{[note 1]}

Alkali metal
#ff9d9d Alkaline earth metal
#ffdead Inner transition metal Transition metal
#ffc0c0 post-transition metal
#cccccc Polyatomic nonmetal
#a1ffc3 Diatomic nonmetal
#e7ff8f Noble gas
#c0ffff

Lanthanide
#ffbfff Actinide
#ff99cc Superactinide ^{[note 2]} Eka-superactinide ^{[note 2]}

predicted
#d8bcbc predicted
#ffecd3 ^{[note 2]} ^{[note 2]} predicted
#d1ddff predicted
#c6dd9d predicted
#ffe2e2 predicted
#d8d8d8 predicted
#e2e2aa predicted
#d0ffe1 predicted
#f2ffc2 predicted
#ddffff

↑ Unknown chemical properties (grey) may be used instead of predicted
1 2 3 4 Situation does not arise

Usage

See for example: {{compact extended periodic table}}
Example {{Periodic table (32 columns, micro)}}, extended:

Earlier category scheme

Earlier categorisation & color scheme for the English wikipedia (before 17 August 2013)

Metal Metalloid
#cccc99 Nonmetal unknown chemical properties
#e8e8e8
^{[oldnote 1]}

Alkali metal
#ff9d9d Alkaline earth metal
#ffdead Inner transition metal Transition metal
#ffc0c0 ~~Post-transition metal~~
#cccccc N
Other Nonmetal
#a0ffa0 N

Halogen
#ffff99 Noble gas
#c0ffff

Lanthanide
#ffbfff Actinide
#ff99cc Superactinide ^{[oldnote 2]} Eka-superactinide ^{[oldnote 2]}

predicted
#d8bcbc predicted
#ffecd3 ^{[oldnote 2]} ^{[oldnote 2]} predicted
#d1ddff predicted
#c6dd9d predicted
#ffe2e2 predicted
#d8d8d8 predicted
#e2e2aa predicted
#D3ffd3 predicted
#ffffff predicted
#ddffff

↑ Unknown chemical properties (grey) may be used instead of predicted
1 2 3 4 Situation does not arise

Categories, reduced set

When a reduced category set, or more general category set, is used, below are their color legends. It is unadvised to use different category levels (different legend rows) in a single table.

Metal
#eee8aa Metalloid
#cccc99 Nonmetal
#b0e0e6 unknown chemical properties
#e8e8e8
^{[note 1]}

Alkali metal
#ff9d9d Alkaline earth metal
#ffdead Inner transition metal
#d8bfd8 Transition metal
#ffc0c0 post-transition metal
#cccccc Polyatomic nonmetal
#a1ffc3 Diatomic nonmetal
#e7ff8f Noble gas
#c0ffff

↑ Unknown chemical properties (grey) may be used instead of predicted

(As of December 2012^[update])

[1] Unknown chemical properties (grey) may be used instead of predicted

[Not-2] 1 2 3 4 Situation does not arise

[3] Unknown chemical properties (grey) may be used instead of predicted

[Not-4] 1 2 3 4 Situation does not arise

[5] Unknown chemical properties (grey) may be used instead of predicted

[note 1]

[note 2]

[oldnote 1]

[oldnote 2]

[note 1]