The periodic table is a classification scheme of the elements. Through the various activities in this lesson, you will discover how the table is organized and determine the many patterns of physical and chemical properties of the elements within this table. By utilizing the various web sites you should come to a better understanding of the wealth of information available in the chemist's most important reference, the periodic table of the elements.
Click on each of the following
sections to find assignments and the web sites.
History of the Periodic Table
History of the Periodic Table
As scientists began to discover more and more elements and understood their physical characteristics and chemical reactivity, they noticed that some elements seemed similar to others. They tried to find ways to organize the elements into a classification scheme.
Assignment:
Give a presentation on the history of the periodic
table. Your presentation can be paper, web
page, oral report, or visual display. Include these
points:
What are some of the important historical events that lead to the periodic
table?
Describe early classification schemes. Why do you think Mendeleev's system
was superior?
What changes have been made to the table since Mendeleev?
Read a biographical sketch of Mendeleev and one other scientist who contributed
to the
table.
| History of the Periodic Table to the latest developments |
| The Periodic Table |
| Dmitrii Mendeleev |
| DMITRI IVANOVICH MENDELEEV |
| Chemical Sciences: Atoms and Molecules: Empirical Periodic Chart of the Elements |
| Dmitriy Mendeleev Online |
Arrangement
of the Periodic Table
The periodic table is constructed in a way that reflects the distribution of electrons in the atoms of the elements. Remember, Mendeleev knew nothing about electrons. How was he able to establish these patterns without knowing this?
Assignment:
1) Sketch a periodic table. Include information
about groups, rows, the four blocks, metals
and nonmetals, and representative
and transitions elements. Be able to explain the electron
configuration that determines
an elements position in the table.
2) Play the Mendeleev Card Game 
(Pick up instructions)
Mendeleev wrote elements
and their properties on cards and sorted them by group and
rank. You will do
likewise in this card game.
| CD-ROM Saunders Interactive Chemistry |
| HyperChemistry on the Web |
| CHEMystery: The Periodic Table of the Elements |
Periodic Trends
One reason that the periodic table is valuable, is that there are many patterns in it that allow a knowledgeable person to use it as a tool. Chemists are able to find new applications for elements and their compounds and create new materials. As we move across and down the table, we see a regular variation in many physical and chemical properties of the elements. Understanding why these patterns exist allows us to predict chemical behaviors and utilize them for our benefit.
Assignment:
1) Perform lab: Trends in solubility and density
(See Addison-Wesley Lab Manual)
2) Find information about the properties: atomic
radius, ionic radius, ionization energy,
electronegativity
Describe the pattern (include pictures, graphs, charts, and written statements
as you wish).
Explain the basis for these patterns.
3) Construct the mystery periodic table
| Graphs of Different Properties |
| Chemicool Periodic Table |
| CHEMystery: The Periodic Table of the Elements |
| Periodic Table of the Elements |
| MIT 3.091 Periodic Table of the Elements: Atomic Number |
top
Pick
an Element
Every
element has a story. Sometimes how an element is discovered is interesting,
like the alkali metals and the noble gases. Other interesting questions
are:
Assignment:
| A Periodic Table of the Elements at Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Periodic Table: Webelements |
Other resources
| Chemistry Teaching Resources - Periodic Tables and Related Material |
| Chemical Education Resources |
| Yahoo! Science:Chemistry |
| The Periodic Table of Poetry |
| Chemical Comics |
Mystery Periodic Table
Construct a periodic table of the representative elements of the first
four rows from the clues provided. See if you understand the patterns.
The following sets of elements belong together:
ZRD, PSIF, JXBE, LHT, QKA,
WOV, GUN, YMC
Here are the clues:
U
has a total of six electrons
I2A
is the simple formula of an oxide
P
is less dense than S
S
is an alkali metal
E
is a noble gas
W
is a liquid
Z
has the smallest atomic mass in its group
B
has ten protons
O
has an atomic number larger the V
D
has the largest atomic mass of its group
C
has five electrons in its outer energy level
F
is a gas
X
has an atomic number one higher than F
Y
is a metalloid
O
is a halogen
The
mass of T is more than that of H
J
has an atomic number three times that of T
Q
has an atomic mass 2 times that of A
Atoms
of I are larger than those of S
M
has an atomic number one less than that of A
The
electrons of atom N are distributed over three energy levels
The
atomic radius of K is the largest of the group
I would like to give credit for this activity to the proper author,
but I do not know who he is.