Periodic trends are changes in the properties of chemical elements along the periodic table of elements. Major periodic trends include electronegativity , ionization energy , electron affinity , atomic radius , ionic radius , metallic character , and chemical reactivity . The periodic trends in properties of elements These trends reflect the changes in atomic properties along the periods (horizontal rows) and groups (vertical columns) in the periodic table. They give a qualitative assessment of the properties of each element. However, not all properties strictly follow these trends, for example, the ionization energies in group 3, the electron affinities in group 17 or the densities in group 1 elements ( alkali metals ). History