Give general information about the elements of the $p$-block.

(N/A) The $p$-block elements consist of six groups in the periodic table,numbered from $13$ to $18$. Boron,carbon,nitrogen,oxygen,fluorine,and helium are the head elements of these groups. Their valence shell electronic configuration is $ns^{2} np^{1-6}$ (except for $He$).
The inner core of the electronic configuration may differ,which significantly influences their physical properties (such as atomic and ionic radii,ionisation enthalpy,etc.) as well as their chemical properties.
Consequently,a lot of variation in the properties of elements within a $p$-block group is observed. The maximum oxidation state shown by a $p$-block element is equal to the total number of valence electrons (i.e.,the sum of the $s$ and $p$-electrons).
The important oxidation states exhibited by $p$-block elements are shown in the table below. In the boron,carbon,and nitrogen families,the group oxidation state is the most stable state for the lighter elements in the group.
However,the oxidation state two units less than the group oxidation state becomes progressively more stable for the heavier elements in each group. The occurrence of oxidation states two units less than the group oxidation states is sometimes attributed to the 'inert pair effect'.

Property	Group $13$	Group $14$	Group $15$	Group $16$	Group $17$	Group $18$
General electronic configuration	$ns^{2} np^{1}$	$ns^{2} np^{2}$	$ns^{2} np^{3}$	$ns^{2} np^{4}$	$ns^{2} np^{5}$	$ns^{2} np^{6}$ ($1s^{2}$ for $He$)
First member of group	$B$	$C$	$N$	$O$	$F$	$He$
Group oxidation state	$+3$	$+4$	$+5$	$+6$	$+7$	$+8$
Other oxidation states	$+1$	$+2, -4$	$+3, -3$	$+4, +2, -2$	$+5, +3, +1, -1$	$+6, +4, +2$