Properties of elements compare to each other because they might have the same color or they have the same state/phase. btw i am only 13 and i had a better answer than the last person cuz they said...
It depends. If the elements are in the same period or column, then there properties could be very similar. The number of protons is what determines the element. because no element has the same number...
elements that are close to each other share similar, but not totally identical to each other. ones that are far away from each other share little to no properties.