Ways To Understanding The Periodic Table

The periodic table shows the chemical elements in columns and rows. The complete table has 7 rows and 18 columns. The elements are organized in increasing atomic numbers starting with Hydrogen, whose atomicnumber is 1.

Dmitri Mendeleev founded the periodic table in 1869. Dmitri Mendeleev discovered 65 elements that could be organized in a grid or table based on their atomic mass. The first table was formed when the 65 elements were arranged in a row-and-column format. This was the core of chemistry, and the father of the periodic table saw it as such. However, he also realized that many unknown elements could be added to the table. On paper, he discovered elements such as silicon, gallium, and scandium.

Smartbuddie Although Mendeleev was the inventor of the periodic table, Henry Moseley, 44 years later, discovered the right explanation for the elements and their regular patterns. Moseley stated that elements are different because they have different numbers of protons. Moseley also discovered that elements' positions in the table could be predicted based on their atomic numbers and not their weight. Modern tables now include 108 and 109 elements. The modern table has 18 groups. Because they have the same number electrons, all elements within a group share similar chemical and physical characteristics. Period is the name given to horizontal rows in the modern table. Each element of a row has different chemical properties. This is because the number or electrons of protons and electrons changes from one row to another.

The modern periodic table has different length periods. The shortest period, which contains Hydrogen and Helium, is the one that has the most elements. Periods two through five contain eight elements each while periods four and five have 18. The elements of the table can also be classified according to their characteristics. Group I is known as Alkali Metals and Group II as Alkaline Earth Metals. Transition metals (sometimes also known as heavy metals because they have higher densities than the Group IA or Group IIA metals), Rear Earth Metals...etc.

More elements are being discovered from different families of the table. Further research continues. Scientists are always looking for information on the existence of these elements, and exploring the hidden theories of chemistry.