Appearance
As the name suggests, all the elements in this Group are gases.

General Reactivity
These elements are all generally considered unreactive.

Occurrence and Extraction
The Inert Gases are all found in minute quantities in the atmosphere, and are isolated by fractional distillation of liquid air. Helium can be obtained from natural gas wells where it has accumulated as a result of radioactive decay.

Physical Properties
All these gases are monatomic. They boil at low temperatures as only dispersion forces act between the atoms. Helium has the lowest boiling point of any element at 4.2K.

Atomic radii increase on descending the Group.

Chemical Properties
This Group should really be named the 'Noble Gases' as compounds of the gases are well documented. However, Helium, Neon and Argon form no known compounds.

Krypton forms KrF₂, a colourless solid, on reaction with Fluorine.