History of the

Periodic Table

L.O: To know what some early versions of

the periodic table were, and to understand
how the periodic table in its current form
was arranged.

10/31/16

Starter

Look at the periodic table youve been given,

and highlight any patterns you see.
Think about the number of protons, the
properties of the elements, and where they
are in the table.

Early Versions of the

Periodic Table

In the early 1800s, scientists had no idea of

atomic structure or of protons or electrons, so
there was no such thing as atomic number to
them.
Back then, the only thing they could measure
wasrelative atomic mass.
As a result, the known elements were
originally arranged in order of atomic mass.
Q: What is relative atomic mass?

John Newlands

Born: 26 November
1837, London, England
Died: 29 July 1898
(aged 60) London,
England
Nationality: British
Fields: Analytical
chemistry
Notable awards: Davy
Medal (1887)

Law of Octaves

As you move notes on a piano, the sound changes in

frequency slightly.
When you get to the eighth note, it sounds very
similar to the first.
This is similar to the way in which properties of
elements change every time you go up by 8
elements (in order of relative atomic mass).

Click on the image

to try it out!

Newlands Law of
Octaves

Newlands had the first good stab at arranging

the elements like this in 1864.
After he arranged them in order of relative
atomic mass, he noticed a pattern in the
properties of the elements every eighth
element had similar properties.
These sets of eight elements were called
Newlands Octaves.

The 1 Periodic Table

st

Newlands listed his Octaves in rows of seven.

This meant that the elements were in a table,
arranged so that elements with similar properties
were in columns, known asgroups.
Because similar properties occurred periodically
(at regular intervals) the table was called the
periodic table.

Presenting his Ideas

Newlands presented his ideas to the Chemical

Society in 1865. But his work was criticised for a
number of reasons:
Some of his groups contained elements that didnt have
similar properties, e.g. carbon and titanium were in the
same group but they dont have similar properties.
He mixed up metals and non-metals, e.g. oxygen (a
non-metal) and iron (a metal) were in the same group.
He didnt leave any gaps for elements that hadnt been
discovered yet, so any new elements that were
discovered would not fit into Newlands system.

Dmitri Mendeleev

Born: 8 February 1834,

Tobolsk Governorate,
Russian Empire
Died: 2 February 1907
(aged 72), Saint
Petersburg, Russian Empire
Nationality: Russian
Fields: Chemistry, physics
and adjacent fields
Notable awards: Davy
Medal (1882)

Mendeleevs Periodic
Table

In 1869 in Russia, Dmitri Mendeleev arranged

about 60 known elements into his Table of
Elements.
Mendeleev put the elements in order of atomic
mass (like Newlands).
But Mendeleev found he had to leave gaps in order
to keep elements with similar properties in the
same vertical columns (groups) and he was
prepared to leave some very big gaps in the first
The gaps
reallythe
clever
bit because
they predicted
two were
rowsthe
before
transition
metals
come inthe
on
properties
of so row.
far undiscovered elements. When they were found
the third
and they fitted the pattern it proved that Mendeleevs system of

Modern Periodic Table

It was only in the 20th century after protons

and electrons were discovered that it was
realised the elements were best arranged in
order ofatomic number.
Then, all the elements were put into groups to
create the modern periodic table

Importance of Periodic
Table

When the periodic table was first released,

many scientists thought it was just a bit of fun.
At that time, there wasnt all that much
evidence to suggest that the elements really
did fit together in that way ideas dont get
the scientific stamp of approval without
evidence.

Mendeleevs
Evidence

After Mendeleev released his work, newly

discovered elements fitted into the gaps he
left.
This was convincing evidence in favour of the
periodic table.
Once
more
S there was more evidence, many
Ga Ge
scientists
realised that the periodic table could
c
Tc
be a useful tool for predicting properties of
Hf
Re worked.
elements.
It really

Modern Periodic Table

In the late 19th century, scientists discovered

protons, neutrons and electrons.
The periodic table matches up very well to
whats been discovered about the structure of
the atom.
Scientists now accept that its a very
important and useful summary of the
structure of atoms.

Questions

1. What did Newlands and Mendeleev arrange the elements

in order of?
2. How did Newlands arrange the elements into a table?
3. Give two reasons why Newlands version of the periodic
table was heavily criticised.
4. Why did Mendeleev leave gaps in his periodic table?
5. Give one piece of evidence that strongly suggested
Mendeleevs system of classifying elements was correct.
6. How are elements arranged in the modern periodic table?
7. Suggest why many scientists didnt initially take the
periodic table seriously.
8. What happened to make scientists believe that the
periodic table is a useful summary of atomic structure?

Answers

1. Their relative atomic masses.

2. He noticed that every eighth element has similar
properties and arranged the elements in rows of
seven so that elements with similar properties
were aligned in columns/groups.
3. Any two from: e.g. some of his groups contained
elements that didnt have similar properties. /
Some of his groups contained a mixture of metals
and nonmetals. / He didnt leave any gaps in the
table for elements that hadnt been discovered
yet.
4. To leave space for undiscovered elements.

Answers

4. The gaps in Mendeleevs table predicted the

properties of elements not discovered at the time.
The gaps were filled when new elements were
discovered.
5. According to atomic number/proton number.
6. E.g. there wasnt much evidence to suggest that
elements really did fit together in that way.
7. Protons, neutrons and electrons were discovered
and the periodic table matched up very well to
what was discovered about the structure of the
atom.

Homework

Research the history of the periodic table in

more detail, and create a timeline of its
development throughout time.
Due in: Next lesson