P Block Elements for NEET: Unit 10 Trends and Revision Guide
P block elements are the elements of groups 13 to 18 of the periodic table, and they are not removed from NEET. They are Unit 10 of the NEET (UG) Chemistry syllabus. The unit is short, though: it asks for the general introduction, electronic configuration, trends across periods and down groups, and the unique behaviour of the first element in each group. This guide shows exactly what that covers, with real numbers you can learn the trends from.
Is p block removed from NEET 2027?
No. The p block elements make up Unit 10 of the Chemistry section in the NEET (UG) syllabus, the file the official NEET site links as the syllabus for the 2026 examination. The unit is headed "P- Block Elements" with the line "Group -13 to Group 18 Elements". Unit 9, on classification of elements and periodicity, also names s, p, d and f block elements as part of the present form of the periodic table.
Why do so many students think p block elements were dropped? Because chapters have been cut from textbooks in recent years, and a lot of "deleted syllabus" lists online mix up what left a textbook with what left the exam. For NEET, only the exam syllabus decides. Our NEET 2027 deleted syllabus guide goes through that list line by line.
There is no 2027 syllabus yet. The NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin says in its FAQ that there is no change in the syllabus of NEET (UG) 2026 with respect to the previous year. As of 25 October 2026, the NEET (UG) public notices carry nothing about the 2027 cycle. So the current wording is the one to study until a new file appears, and you should re-check it the day NTA publishes the 2027 bulletin.
What exactly does Unit 10 ask you to know?
The whole unit on p block elements is three lines long. That is the most useful fact about it, because it tells you where to spend time and where not to. Here is the official wording, split into what each part means for your revision.
| Syllabus phrase (Unit 10) | What it means in practice | What to be able to do |
|---|---|---|
| Group 13 to Group 18 Elements | The six p block groups, from boron's group to the noble gases | Name every element in each group in order, top to bottom |
| Electronic configuration | Outer shell ns2 np1 to ns2 np6 | Write the outer configuration of any p block element from its position |
| General trends in physical and chemical properties across the periods and down the groups | Electronegativity, ionisation energy, metallic character, physical state, oxidation states | Predict which of two elements has the higher value, and spot the known breaks in a trend |
| Unique behaviour of the first element in each group | Boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine (and helium or neon in group 18) | Say how the first element differs from the rest of its group, with an example |
Now compare that with the very next unit. Unit 11, on d and f block elements, names specific compounds: the preparation, properties and uses of K2Cr2O7 and KMnO4. Unit 10 names no compound at all. That does not mean a question can never mention one, but it does mean that a long list of reactions for every p block oxide and acid is not what the syllabus asks you to memorise. The trends are.
Two other units touch p block elements too. Unit 9 builds the periodic trends you will use here, such as ionisation enthalpy and electron gain enthalpy. And Unit 20, on practical chemistry, includes potash alum among the inorganic preparations and lists p block ions such as Pb2+, Al3+, CO3 2-, S2-, SO4 2-, NO3-, NO2-, Cl-, Br- and I- in qualitative salt analysis. If you revise those three units together, p block elements stop being an isolated chapter.
Which elements are the p block elements?
The p block elements are the elements whose last electron enters a p orbital, which places them in groups 13 to 18. The IUPAC has recommended since 1988 that groups simply be numbered 1 to 18, so if an older book calls group 13 "IIIA", it is the same column. The table below uses electron configurations and element categories from the PubChem periodic table, run by the US National Institutes of Health.
| Group | Outer configuration | Elements, top to bottom | PubChem category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | ns2 np1 | B, Al, Ga, In, Tl | B metalloid; Al, Ga, In, Tl post-transition metals |
| 14 | ns2 np2 | C, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb | C nonmetal; Si, Ge metalloids; Sn, Pb post-transition metals |
| 15 | ns2 np3 | N, P, As, Sb, Bi | N, P nonmetals; As, Sb metalloids; Bi post-transition metal |
| 16 | ns2 np4 | O, S, Se, Te, Po | O, S, Se nonmetals; Te, Po metalloids |
| 17 | ns2 np5 | F, Cl, Br, I, At | Halogens |
| 18 | ns2 np6 (He: 1s2) | He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn | Noble gases |
Each group of p block elements also has one superheavy element in period 7 (nihonium, flerovium, moscovium, livermorium, tennessine and oganesson). PubChem marks their configurations as predicted, so they are good to recognise but not worth memorising in detail.
Read the "category" column for the p block elements from top to bottom and the first big trend jumps out. Metallic character grows as you go down a group. Group 14 alone runs from a nonmetal (carbon) through two metalloids (silicon, germanium) to two metals (tin, lead). That one column is a favourite way to test the idea.
How do the trends run across the p block?
Across a period of p block elements, from left to right, electronegativity and first ionisation energy generally rise. Down a group, they generally fall. That is the rule of thumb. NEET questions are often built on the places where the rule bends, so learn the rule and the breaks together. All numbers below are from PubChem: electronegativity on the Pauling scale, first ionisation energy in electronvolts (eV).
| Period 2 | B | C | N | O | F | Ne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronegativity | 2.04 | 2.55 | 3.04 | 3.44 | 3.98 | none listed |
| First ionisation energy (eV) | 8.298 | 11.260 | 14.534 | 13.618 | 17.423 | 21.565 |
| Period 3 | Al | Si | P | S | Cl | Ar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronegativity | 1.61 | 1.90 | 2.19 | 2.58 | 3.16 | none listed |
| First ionisation energy (eV) | 5.986 | 8.152 | 10.487 | 10.360 | 12.968 | 15.760 |
Electronegativity climbs steadily across both rows. Ionisation energy does not. In both periods it drops once, from group 15 to group 16: nitrogen 14.534 eV against oxygen 13.618 eV, and phosphorus 10.487 eV against sulfur 10.360 eV. The standard explanation, which you meet in Unit 9, is configuration: nitrogen ends in 2p3, a half-filled p subshell with one electron in each p orbital, while oxygen's fourth p electron has to pair up and is a little easier to remove.
Why does group 13 break the downward trend?
Going down group 13 you would expect each element to lose its outer electron more easily than the one above it. The data says otherwise.
Gallium sits just above aluminium, and thallium is higher than both indium and aluminium. Look at the configurations in PubChem and you see what changed: gallium is the first element of the group with a filled 3d subshell ([Ar] 4s2 3d10 4p1), and thallium has filled 4f and 5d subshells as well ([Xe] 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p1). Those inner d and f electrons shield the nucleus poorly, so the outer electron is held more tightly than the simple trend predicts. Group 14 shows the same kind of break at the bottom: lead (7.417 eV) is slightly above tin (7.344 eV).
What happens to oxidation states down a group?
Among the p block elements, PubChem lists two common oxidation states for the heavy ones where the light ones have one. Boron and aluminium show +3; thallium shows +3 and +1. Carbon's list starts at +4; lead shows +4 and +2. Bismuth shows +5 and +3. The lower state, two units below the group maximum, belongs to the two s electrons that stay out of bonding in the heaviest elements. Your textbook will call this the inert pair effect. For NEET, remember the direction: the lower oxidation state shows up in the heavier elements at the bottom of groups 13, 14 and 15, not in the light ones at the top.
Which physical states should you remember?
PubChem's standard states give a quick set of recall facts about p block elements. All of group 18 is gaseous. In group 17, fluorine and chlorine are gases, bromine is a liquid and iodine is a solid. Nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine, the first elements of groups 15, 16 and 17, are all gases, while the elements below them in groups 15 and 16 are solids. That gas to solid jump is itself one of the clearest signs that the first element of a group behaves differently.
What makes the first element of each group different?
This is the last line of Unit 10 and the part of p block elements students skip most often. The first element of each p block group is the one in period 2: boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine (and, in group 18, helium and neon). Their valence electrons are in the n = 2 shell, and for n = 2 the only subshells are 2s and 2p. There is no 2d. So these elements have just four valence orbitals to bond with, while the elements below them have empty d orbitals in the same shell.
The data for these p block elements shows the difference clearly.
| Group | First element | Its electronegativity | Highest below it | Its oxidation states (PubChem) | Heavier member, for contrast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | B | 2.04 | Ga 1.81 | +3 | Tl: +3, +1 |
| 14 | C | 2.55 | Pb 2.33 | +4, +2, -4 | Sn: +4, +2 |
| 15 | N | 3.04 | P 2.19 | +5 to -3 | Bi: +5, +3 |
| 16 | O | 3.44 | S 2.58 | -2 | S: +6, +4, -2 |
| 17 | F | 3.98 | Cl 3.16 | -1 | Cl: +7, +5, +1, -1 |
Three patterns about p block elements are worth memorising from this table.
- The first element is the most electronegative in its group, every time. Fluorine at 3.98 is the highest value in the whole periodic table.
- Oxygen and fluorine lose the positive states. Fluorine shows only -1 and oxygen only -2 in PubChem's list, while chlorine goes up to +7 and sulfur to +6.
- The first element is the odd one out in its group. Boron is the only metalloid in group 13, and nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine are gases at room temperature while the elements below them in groups 15 and 16 are solids.
When a question on p block elements asks "which of these does not show property X", check the first element of the group before anything else.
Which lines trap students in the p block?
- Thinking p block elements were deleted. They were not. Unit 10 is in the current syllabus file.
- Putting helium in the s block because of 1s2. It is a group 18 element and a noble gas, even though its configuration has no p electrons.
- Assuming ionisation energy falls smoothly down group 13. Gallium is above aluminium and thallium is above indium.
- Assuming ionisation energy rises smoothly across a period. Oxygen is below nitrogen, and sulfur is below phosphorus.
- Mixing up metalloids. In PubChem's grouping the metalloids among p block elements are B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te and Po. Bismuth is a metal.
- Forgetting that bromine is a liquid. It is the only liquid among the halogens at standard conditions.
- Giving fluorine a positive oxidation state. Its only listed state is -1.
- Memorising reactions the syllabus does not name while leaving the trend lines unrevised. Unit 10's wording is about configuration, trends and first-element behaviour.
How should you revise p block elements for NEET?
Revising p block elements rewards structure more than hours. A plan that fits into a week of normal study:
- Print the syllabus lines. Copy the three lines of Unit 10, the Unit 9 periodicity line and the Unit 20 salt-analysis ions onto one page. That page is your scope.
- Draw groups 13 to 18 from memory with outer configurations, then check against the table above until you get every element in order without looking.
- Learn the trends with the breaks. Write one line for each: electronegativity, ionisation energy, metallic character, states, oxidation states. Next to each, write its known exception (N and O, P and S, Al and Ga, In and Tl, Sn and Pb).
- Build the first-element table for B, C, N, O and F in your own words, using the comparison table in this guide.
- Turn every exception into a flashcard. Exceptions are where the options come from, and spaced recall keeps them. Our guide to NEET flashcards shows how to set them up.
- Test under time. Do mixed Chemistry questions, then sort your wrong answers by trend. A wrong answer at plus four and minus one costs you five marks against a right one, which our NEET negative marking guide explains.
How much time should p block elements get? Nobody can tell you how many questions Unit 10 will carry in 2027: NTA publishes the exam pattern, not a chapter-wise question split. What is fixed is the paper, 45 Chemistry questions for 180 marks. For a realistic view of how chapters sit against each other in a revision plan, futureMBBS's NEET 2027 chapter-wise weightage guide is a good next read, and the NEET syllabus overview on futureMBBS puts all three subjects on one page.
If you are still building your Chemistry plan, start with our NEET 2027 Chemistry preparation strategy. P block elements lean heavily on bonding ideas such as electronegativity and covalency, so chemical bonding for NEET is the best chapter to revise right before it. For practice by unit, see our NEET Chemistry questions guide, and for the habit of reading textbooks against the syllabus, futureMBBS explains why NEET leans on the NCERT book and our NEET previous year question papers guide shows how to use old papers without wasting them.
Want to see whether p block elements are actually costing you marks? NEETsheet's chapter-wise Chemistry sets and timed mocks show which trend you keep getting wrong, so your next revision goes there first. Start at neetsheet.in.
Sources
Every syllabus line and number above comes from these documents, opened and read on 25 October 2026.
- National Testing Agency, NEET (UG) syllabus file linked from neet.nta.nic.in as the syllabus for the 2026 examination, headed "Syllabus for NEET (UG) 2025" (Chemistry Units 9, 10, 11 and 20): https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s37bc1ec1d9c3426357e69acd5bf320061/uploads/2026/01/20260102588210790.pdf
- National Testing Agency, Information Bulletin NEET (UG) 2026 (pattern: Chemistry 45 questions and 180 of 720 marks; plus four and minus one marking; syllabus FAQ stating no change for 2026): https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s37bc1ec1d9c3426357e69acd5bf320061/uploads/2026/02/202602231394640855.pdf
- National Testing Agency, NEET (UG) public notices, checked on 25 October 2026 for any NEET (UG) 2027 notice: https://neet.nta.nic.in/public-notices/
- PubChem, US National Library of Medicine, Periodic Table of Elements (electron configurations, Pauling electronegativities, first ionisation energies in eV, standard states, oxidation states and element categories for groups 13 to 18): https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/periodic-table/
- IUPAC, Periodic Table of Elements (group numbering 1 to 18 recommended since 1988; current release dated 4 May 2022): https://iupac.org/what-we-do/periodic-table-of-elements/
Frequently Asked Questions
No. P block elements are Chemistry Unit 10 of the NEET (UG) syllabus file linked from the official NEET site, covering groups 13 to 18. The 2026 bulletin says the syllabus did not change from the previous year, and no 2027 syllabus had been published by 25 October 2026.
There is no separate s block unit in the current NEET (UG) Chemistry syllabus. Unit 9, on classification of elements and periodicity, names s, p, d and f block elements as part of the present form of the periodic table, so you still need to know where the s block sits and how its trends run.
Groups 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. Their outer configuration runs from ns2 np1 in group 13 to ns2 np6 in group 18. Helium is the exception: it sits in group 18 with the noble gases, but its configuration is 1s2.
Nobody can say officially. NTA publishes the subject-wise pattern, 45 Chemistry questions for 180 marks in NEET (UG) 2026, but not a chapter-wise split. Treat any fixed number you see online as an estimate, and revise Unit 10's trends and exceptions properly whatever the count.
Nitrogen ends in 2p3, a half-filled p subshell with one electron in each orbital, which is a stable arrangement. Oxygen's fourth p electron has to pair up in an orbital that already holds one, so it is easier to remove. PubChem gives 14.534 eV for nitrogen and 13.618 eV for oxygen.
