Have you ever seen a colorful chart filled with letters and numbers? That’s the periodic table of elements! Today, we’re going to explore what this table is all about and what those letters mean. Ready to dive in? Let’s go!
Before we jump into the periodic table, let’s understand what an element is. An element is a material made from a single kind of atom. Atoms are like tiny building blocks that make up everything in the universe! Some examples of elements are hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, iron, helium, and gold. In total, there are about 118 known elements.
Here’s a cool fact: Only 94 of these elements are found naturally on Earth. And guess what? The elements on Earth are the same as those on Mars. Isn’t that amazing?
Each atom has a certain number of protons and electrons. The number of protons in an atom is called its atomic number. This number is super important because it helps us organize the periodic table.
Let’s travel back in time to 1869. A Russian chemist named Dimitri Mendeleev wanted to organize the elements into a table. At that time, only 65 elements were known. Mendeleev arranged them by weight and grouped elements with similar properties in the same column.
Fun fact: Mendeleev loved playing cards, so he wrote the weight of each element on a card and sorted them like a card game. Science can be fun!
Mendeleev left spaces in his table for elements that hadn’t been discovered yet. He even predicted what these elements would be like. Later, in 1913, a chemist named Henry Moseley discovered that elements are different because their atoms have different numbers of protons. This led to the creation of the atomic number and the periodic table we use today.
Today, elements are arranged by their atomic number. For example, hydrogen is the first element because it has one proton. Helium, with two protons, comes next. These rows are called periods, and there are seven periods in the table.
The vertical columns are called groups, and there are 18 of them. Thanks to Mendeleev and Moseley, scientists have a handy guide for research and experiments.
Each element on the periodic table has a name and a chemical symbol. For example, calcium’s symbol is Ca. Did you know you have about two pounds of calcium in your body? It’s mostly in your bones and teeth. Calcium is also found in milk, seashells, and cement.
Sometimes, the symbols come from Latin words. For instance, gold’s symbol is Au, from the Latin word “Aurum.” Here’s a fun fact: The letter J is never used in the periodic table!
Calcium’s atomic number is 20, meaning it has 20 protons. Its atomic weight is 40.08, which is the total of its protons and neutrons. Calcium is in the alkali metals group and can be found in period four.
We can find all this information for every element, thanks to the periodic table!
Let’s see what you’ve learned:
True or false: Dimitri Mendeleev was the first scientist to organize elements into a table. (True!)
Fill in the blank: An element typically has the same number of protons and ________ electrons.
How many known elements are there in the universe? (118!)
Even if the periodic table seems tricky now, it’s a key to understanding the building blocks of everything around us. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll discover a new element and add it to the table!
Hope you had fun learning with us! Visit us at learnbrite.org for more exciting resources and activities.
Element Scavenger Hunt: Go on a scavenger hunt around your home or classroom to find items that contain elements from the periodic table. For example, look for items like a pencil (contains carbon), a soda can (contains aluminum), or a light bulb (contains tungsten). Make a list of the items you find and write down the element’s name and symbol. Share your findings with your classmates and see who found the most elements!
Create Your Own Element Card: Choose an element from the periodic table and create a colorful card for it. Include the element’s name, symbol, atomic number, and a fun fact about it. You can also draw a picture of where you might find this element in everyday life. Display your card in the classroom and learn about different elements from your friends’ cards.
Periodic Table Song: Make up a song or a rhyme to help you remember the order of the first ten elements in the periodic table. Use the element names and their symbols in your song. Perform your song for your family or classmates and see if they can learn the elements with you!
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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[Music]
What is the periodic table of elements for kids? Have you ever seen one of these charts before? This is called the periodic table of elements, and today we’re going to learn all about what it is and what all of these letters mean. Ready? Let’s go!
Before we talk more in detail about the periodic table of elements, let’s first discuss what an element actually is. An element is material made from a single kind of atom. In fact, scientists often use the terms “element” and “atom” interchangeably. Atoms, or elements, are the building blocks for all matter in the universe. Examples of different kinds of elements include hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, iron, helium, and gold, among many others. In total, there are about 118 known elements.
Want to know a fascinating fact? Only 94 of these elements exist naturally on Earth. And here’s another interesting fact: the elements found on Earth are the same as those found on Mars. Cool, right?
The structure of each atom contains the number of protons and electrons it has. Because of this, every element has what is called an atomic number, which is the same as the number of protons in the element. Why is this atomic number important? Well, that is where the periodic table of elements comes in.
But first, let’s go back in time for a minute. Way back in 1869, a Russian chemist named Dimitri Mendeleev tried to organize elements into a grid or table. At the time, only 65 elements had been discovered, and Mendeleev decided to order them by weight. He also grouped elements with similar properties or reactions in the same column.
Here’s a fun fact about Mendeleev: he loved to play cards, so he wrote down the weight of each element on a separate card and sorted them like they would be organized in solitaire. Who says science can’t be fun?
Mendeleev knew that his table was incomplete because he left spaces for elements that had not yet been discovered. He even named some of these elements and predicted what they would be like. Twenty-seven years after Mendeleev created his table, electrons were discovered, which meant that his table needed to be revised. In 1913, a chemist named Henry Moseley discovered that elements are different from each other because their atoms have different numbers of protons, leading to the creation of the atomic number and the version of the periodic table we have today.
In modern times, chemical elements are still arranged in order of their increasing atomic number, which is why this number is so important. Take hydrogen, for example. Hydrogen is the first element listed on the periodic table because it has just one proton. Next on that same row, you will find helium, which contains two protons. These rows are called periods, and there are seven total periods in the periodic table.
Remember how Mendeleev grouped similar elements in the same column? The periodic table is organized in that same way. These vertical columns are called groups, and there are 18 of them. Thanks to the work of chemists like Mendeleev and Moseley, scientists today have a guide to working with the elements when they do research and experiments.
Even though we are not professional scientists, we can still use the periodic table to help us with all sorts of scientific inquiries.
Each element on the periodic table has several parts. You can easily spot that each element has a name and a chemical symbol. For example, here’s the symbol and name for the element calcium. Here’s an interesting fact about calcium: you have about two pounds of it inside your body! It is mostly located in your bones and teeth. Calcium is also found in milk, seashells, and cement.
Like most elements on the table, the abbreviation for calcium starts with the same letter as its name. Sometimes, though, other letters are used. This is because some abbreviations come from the Latin words for the elements. For example, Au is the symbol for gold because it comes from the Latin word “Aurum,” which means gold.
Want to know a fascinating fact you can share with your friends? J is the only letter never used in the periodic table of elements! The more you study the table, the more you will remember these exceptions. As you do research, you will find that some versions of the periodic table show more information than others. For example, some tables may only include the atomic number and element symbol, while others include the element name, atomic weight, and more.
But let’s get back to calcium for a minute. Calcium’s atomic number is 20, which means that calcium has a total of 20 protons. Along with the atomic number, there is also atomic weight or mass, which is calculated by adding the number of protons and neutrons in an atom or element. The atomic weight for calcium is 40.08.
If we look at the periodic table together, we can see that calcium is in the alkali metals group and can be found in period four. The best part is that we can find out all of the same information for every other known element, all thanks to the periodic table!
Wow, we just learned a lot of new things! It is definitely time to review.
True or false: Dimitri Mendeleev was the first known scientist to order elements into a table. True!
Fill in the blank: An element typically has the same number of protons and ________ electrons.
How many known elements are there in the universe? I bet you said 118! Fantastic job, friends!
Even though learning and understanding the periodic table of elements might not seem super useful to you today, it is an important part of understanding the ingredients that make up all matter. Who knows? Maybe one day you will be the one to add a newly discovered element to the table and make an impact, just like Mendeleev, Moseley, and chemists working today.
Hope you had fun learning with us! Visit us at learnbrite.org for thousands of free resources and turnkey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers.
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