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Why is the periodic table called the periodic table?
Why is it called the periodic table of elements, and not the periodic table of Atoms?
11 Answers
Why are rows in the periodic table called periods?
Sean Thomas, Chemistry Teacher by day, ubernerd by night Answered Nov 23 2015 · Author has 163 answers and 424.4k answer views
As early as the 1800s, following the ferver of element discovery that engrossed the 1700s, chemists began figuring out the atomic weights of the elements. Some chemists noticed that the
Which period in a period table is called a very long period? Why is the periodic table called its name?
general physical and chemical properties of the elements repeated periodically. If they listed the
What are columns called on the periodic table?
elements in order of atomic mass, the general properties of the elements would repeat every 7th
Who created the Uuo periodic table?
element.
Who named the "periodic table"?
The second element (what we now call lithium) shared several similarities with the 9th element,
What is an easy way to learn the periodic table?
sodium. Both were exceptionally soft, white metals that would rust over in a matter of seconds
What are the groups of the periodic table called?
if exposed to air. Both reacted violently with water. And the 16th element, potassium, shared
How was periodic table invented?
many of these qualities as well.
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The same was found of beryllium, magnesium and calcium. Fluorine, chlorine and bromine.
In other languages
Oxygen and sulfur. En español: ¿Por qué la tabla periódica se llama así?
Look at your modern periodic table and notice that these groups of elements all happen to share the same column. A quite famous Russian chemist named Dimitri Mendeleev (Min-del-ay-ev) took this idea of periodicity, the repeating nature of the elements' properties, and used it to transform how the elements are presented. Rather than a simple list, he arranged them in rows that had similar properties. In doing so, he discovered two things: That the elements sometimes were NOT arranged in order of atomic mass, and that some elements were... missing. He proceeded to describe the expected properties of the "missing" elements, and when germanium was discovered by a French scientist less than 10 years later, he authored a paper in which he asserted that the other scientists' data was incorrect because it was inconsistent with his prediction. And further study led to the realization that Mendeleev was right! The french guy's data was wrong. Of course, Mendeleev's new table was not exactly the table we see today but it was close. For example, we now know that the elements' properties repeat every 8 elements thanks to the discovery of the entirely unreactive noble gases. We group the similar elements into columns instead of rows. Further, Mendeleev would never live to see the reason for the periodicity explained. It took another 30 years before the discovery valence electrons. Scientists discovered electrons in the late 1800s. By 1920, various experiments had led chemists to conclude that the electrons occupied a series of spherical orbits at fixed energy intervals. Further, they discovered that each shell can contain 8 electrons, and that the number of electrons in this shell matched the column that the element appeared in. That is to say, all the elements in the first column have 1 electron in their outermost shell. All the elements in the seventh column have 7 electrons in their outermost shell. And so, scientists finally found the reason for the periodicity of the elements: Valence electrons. And so the table became known as the Periodic Table. 20k Views · View Upvoters Your response is private.
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Why is it called the periodic table of elements, and not the periodic table of Atoms? Why are rows in the periodic table called periods? Which period in a period table is called a very long period? Why is the periodic table called its name? What are columns called on the periodic table? Ask New Question Stuart Herring, B.S. Information Technology, American InterContinental University Atlanta (2004) Answered Jan 27 · Author has 1.1k answers and 181.2k answer views Originally Answered: Why do they call the periodic table the periodic table?
Why do they call the periodic table the periodic table? It is a table of the elements, arranged according to their atomic properties. When Dmitri Mendeleev was looking for the best way to arrange the list of elements (to make a table of them), he noticed that there were trends in the properties of various groups of them. For instance, the metals that are now called the alkali metals—lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium (and francium, though it was not discovered before Mendeleev’s time)—all are soft, silvery metals that oxidize quickly in air and react rapidly (even explosively) with water. They form oxides in a 2:1 atom ratio (as in NaO), and form strong bases (such as KOH) when the oxides dissolve in water. Mendeleev’s key observation was that the atomic numbers of such groups of elements had a regular separation. Using the alkali metals as an example again, the atomic numbers of potassium, rubidium, and cesium are different by exactly 18. The same was true for iron, ruthenium, and osmium; copper, silver, and gold; and others. The regular recurrence of the properties showed a periodicity—and so the chart was named the periodic table. 571 Views
John L. Odom, BA and MA Chemistry, Pacific Union College (1955) Answered Apr 25 2016 · Author has 695 answers and 993.8k answer views
"Periodic" means that every so often something repeats. The table showed that every so often the properties of elements were repeated. This is particularly evident in the inert gasses, the halogens and the alkali metals. Thus was BIG news then! 3.3k Views · View Upvoters · Answer requested by Adela Rogers
Subhadeep Mandal, bachelor in chemistry Answered Dec 4 2017 · Author has 311 answers and 235.3k answer views
What is periodic? Something that repeats itself after a certain interval. Hence we seethe similar character of alkali metals , transition metals,non metals and metaloids. Electronegativity,polarity, diagonal relationship and the list will never end. All this occur after a certain period when the conditions are fulfilled. Thus we call the table as periodic table. The periodic table is often characterized by beautiful and distinguishable colours to grouo the same species that repeats after a period. 1.1k Views · Answer requested by Des Hawkins
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Ankit Thakker Answered Aug 18 2015
The physical and chemical properties of elements are the periodic functions of their atomic numbers and not their atomic weights as is the general perception . This means that as you move top to bottom or left to right in the table, the various properties of elements ( number of valence electrons for example) change and depend on their atomic numbers. It was observed that elements having similar properties had something to do with their atomic numbers. Hence the table came to be known as the periodic table where periodicity arises due to atomic numbers of elements . 3.2k Views · View Upvoters
David Caesaro Answered Sep 10 2016 · Author has 99 answers and 22.4k answer views
Because the characteristics of elements repeats over a period of numbers— typically 8- 16— due to the quantum nature of various atomic structures, with each column being a separate period, that behaves like other elements in the same period:
Basically, this is because the first two atoms, Hydrogen and Helium, have only one or two electrons, and so they simply stay as far away from each other as possible. Then with more electons, the period-number is 8, since there is a larger electron-shell which holds up to 8 electrons. After that, the shells hold up to 16 electrons each since they’re bigger and have more electrons, resulting in more interaction among the electromagnetic fields. This causes those in the same column, or “period,” to behave similarly, with those on the left being more negative/alkaline, while when a shell is fully filled (i.e. those “noble elements,” on the right) then it doesn’t interact with anything else. 1.1k Views
Related Questions Who created the Uuo periodic table? Who named the "periodic table"? What is an easy way to learn the periodic table? What are the groups of the periodic table called? How was periodic table invented? How can you describe the periods in the periodic table? How is the periodic table used? Why is a period long in the periodic table? Why is silicon in period 3 of the periodic table? What are the uses of the periodic table? Ask New Question
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