Noble Gas - GCSE Chemistry Definition

Reviewed by: Richard Boole

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Noble gases are elements in Group 0 (or Group 18) of the Periodic Table. They include helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. Noble gases are:

  • Colourless, odourless, and unreactive

  • Found as gases at room temperature

  • Chemically stable because they have full outer electron shells

They have full outer shells of electrons which means that they do not need to gain or lose electrons. Therefore, noble gases rarely react with other elements. They are used in everyday life, for example, neon in advertising signs and helium in balloons. In GCSE Chemistry, noble gases help explain trends in reactivity and the importance of electron arrangements in determining chemical behaviour.

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Richard Boole

Reviewer: Richard Boole

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Richard has taught Chemistry for over 15 years as well as working as a science tutor, examiner, content creator and author. He wasn’t the greatest at exams and only discovered how to revise in his final year at university. That knowledge made him want to help students learn how to revise, challenge them to think about what they actually know and hopefully succeed; so here he is, happily, at SME.

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