The electrochemical series, also known as the activity series or electromotive series, is a list of metals (and other elements) arranged in order of their standard electrode potentials. This arrangement ranks them by their tendency to lose electrons (get oxidized, or "give up their valence electrons"). Metals higher in the series are more reactive and lose electrons more easily than those lower down.

A. periodic table: The periodic table arranges elements primarily by increasing atomic number, which helps show trends in properties, including the number of valence electrons and general reactivity, but it is not specifically a series of metals ranked by their comparative tendency to give up valence electrons in the manner of the electrochemical series.

C. table of elements: This is another name for the periodic table or a general list of all known elements, not a specific series ranking metals by their reactivity or tendency to lose electrons.

D. periodicals: Periodicals are publications (magazines, journals, etc.) that come out at regular intervals; this term has no relevance to the arrangement of metals by chemical properties.