Huh? My periodic table, group VI, shows Chromium, Molybdenum, Tungsten, Seaborgium, Neodymium and Uranium. What am I missing here? :confused:

That's what I was thinking. Maybe we're holding our books upside-down?

You are looking at the transition metals (the ones in the middle) which can vary in ionization states. If you look at the right of your periodic table, the column that begins with O is generally referred to as Group VI. There should be a "VI A" above it.

The periodic table is really an amazing thing in the respect that elements can be organized so well according to structure and chemical properties. For instance, another example: The reason that Radium can be such a nasty radioactive element is that it is in the same Group as Calcium (Group IIA) and therefore has many similar properties to Ca. If Ra is ingested somehow, what happens is that the Ra starts replacing the calcium in your bones and you will invariably get bone cancer.

The funny thing is that in the early 1900's when radioactivity was first being discovered and studied, "quack" people tried to make money off of it and sold radioactive supplements to "revive" and give "vitality" to people. Needless to say, those who drank the stuff became sick or even died. Scientists eventually realized that radioactivity had ionizing capabilities, whereas other electromagnetic radiation did not (such as radio waves).