Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Mendeleev, a famous scientist, created the periodic table almost 150
years ago. He even predicted elements would be discovered that have in
fact been discovered in recent years!
Dmitri Mendeleev was born in Siberia, Russia on February 8,
1834. He was born into a large family. His mother thought a good
education was important. Mendeleev eventually became a teacher
and studied chemistry. He even wrote an entire chemistry textbook
in two months!
An important time in Mendeleev’s life was when he attended a
chemistry conference.
Scientists at this meeting talked about how they could share their learning with others to make
chemistry more organized. This inspired Mendeleev. He decided he wanted to organize the elements.
So, Mendeleev made note cards for over 60 elements, listing their important features. He felt like
there was a pattern among the elements but couldn’t quite explain it. He fell asleep and when he
awoke he knew the pattern. He had a dream about the answer to the pattern!
The table in which Mendeleev organized the elements in 1869 became known as the periodic table.
He even left empty spaces in the table for undiscovered elements. Today scientists have filled in his
empty spaces!
As a reminder of the importance of Mendeleev’s great work, element number 101 is named after
him. It is appropriately named “Mendelevium!”
visit twinkl.com
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Mendeleev, a famous scientist, created the periodic table almost
150 years ago. He even predicted elements that would be discovered
that have in fact been discovered in recent years!
Dmitri Mendeleev was born in Siberia, Russia on February 8, 1834.
He was born into a large family and his mother greatly encouraged
his education. Mendeleev eventually became a teacher and studied
chemistry. He even wrote an entire chemistry textbook in two months!
An important time in Mendeleev’s life was when he attended the very first international chemistry
conference. Scientists at this conference talked about how they could share their learning with
others to make chemistry more organized. This inspired Mendeleev. He decided he wanted to
organize the elements. During this time only about 60 elements were known (today 118 elements
are known). So, Mendeleev made note cards for the 60 elements, listing their important features
and weights (atomic masses). He felt like there was a pattern among the elements but couldn’t
quite explain it. He fell asleep and when he awoke he knew the pattern! He said the answer came
to him in a dream.
The table in which Mendeleev organized the elements in 1869 became known as the periodic table.
He even left empty spaces in the table for undiscovered elements. Today scientists have filled in his
empty spaces!
As a reminder of the importance of Mendeleev’s great work, element number 101 is named after
him. It is appropriately named “Mendelevium!”
visit twinkl.com
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Mendeleev, a famous scientist, created the periodic table almost
150 years ago. He even predicted elements that would be discovered
that have in fact been discovered in recent years!
Dmitri Mendeleev was born in Siberia, Russia on February 8,
1834. He was born into a large family and his mother greatly
encouraged his education. Mendeleev eventually became a teacher
and completed graduate work in chemistry. He even wrote an entire
chemistry textbook in two months!
An important time in Mendeleev’s life was when he attended the very first international
chemistry conference. Scientists at this conference discussed the need to standardize chemistry to
make it more accessible to scientists across the world. Upon returning home from the conference,
Mendeleev was inspired to help organize chemistry for his fellow scientists. He decided he wanted to
organize the elements. During this time only about 60 elements were known (today 118 elements
are known). So, Mendeleev made note cards for the 60 elements, listing their important features
and weights (atomic masses). He felt like there was a pattern among the elements but couldn’t
quite explain it. He fell asleep and when he awoke he knew the pattern! He said the answer came
to him in a dream.
The table in which Mendeleev organized the elements in 1869 became known as the periodic
table. Other scientists attempted to organize the elements around the same time as Mendeleev
but couldn’t quite convince other scientists they were correct. Mendeleev gained the trust of other
scientists because he explained the pattern based on atomic weight. He also noticed that some
elements didn’t fit into the pattern, so he suggested that the recorded weights must be incorrect;
he was right! He even left empty spaces in the periodic table for undiscovered elements. Today
scientists have filled in his empty spaces!
As a reminder of the importance of Mendeleev’s great work, element number 101 is named after
him. It is appropriately named “Mendelevium!”
visit twinkl.com