Group 0 — The Noble Gases

This lesson covers the Group 0 elements (the noble gases) as required by the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry specification (1CH0), Topic 6: Groups in the Periodic Table. You need to understand why the noble gases are unreactive, know their key physical properties and trends, and recall their uses.

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The Group 0 Elements

Group 0 is found on the far right of the periodic table. These elements are called the noble gases because they are extremely unreactive — they rarely form compounds with other elements.

Element	Symbol	Atomic Number	Electron Configuration	Boiling Point (°C)
Helium	He	2	2	−269
Neon	Ne	10	2, 8	−246
Argon	Ar	18	2, 8, 8	−186
Krypton	Kr	36	2, 8, 18, 8	−153
Xenon	Xe	54	2, 8, 18, 18, 8	−108

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Why Are the Noble Gases Unreactive?

The noble gases have full outer electron shells: