Name: _____________________________________
Period: ________
Date: ________
Score:______
Alien Periodic Table
Learning Target:
I can predict the relative chemical properties of elements based on patterns of valence electrons and the periodic
trends of electronegativity, ionization energy, electron affinity, and atomic radius.
Mission:
To correctly arrange alien elements on a blank periodic table using trends in their physical and chemical
properties.
Background Information:
Earth’s scientists have announced that they have made contact with intelligent life on a distant planet. This
alien planet’s language has been translated and scientific information has begun to be exchanged. The planet is
composed of the same elements as Earth. However, the inhabitants of the planet have different names and
symbols for them. Since the alien scientists do not know the names of our elements, they have radioed the
following data on the known properties of the elements. Strangely, but luckily there are no transition or rare
earth elements on the alien planet. This means that their periodic table consists only of the main group
elements.
Procedure:
1) Listed below is the data of the properties for each element.
2) Be sure to record your conclusions in the blank periodic table to the right.
a) Place the 30 elements in their proper position on the blank periodic table.
3) Complete the analysis questions on the back page.
Data:
1) The halogens are Madrid (Ma), Hoffenheim (Hn), and Atalanta (An). Liverpool and Manchester are in
the same period as Hoffenheim.
2) The chemical makeup of the alien planet’s oceans seems to be the same as Earth’s oceans (saltwater).
When seawater is distilled, the liquid that is boiled off and condensed has been shown to have
molecules consisting of one atom of Napoli (Np) and two atoms of Dynamo (Dn) . The solid left behind
after distillation mainly consists of a crystal made up of the elements Eindhoven and Madrid.
3) The noble gases are Liverpool (Lv), Valencia (Va), Ajax (Aj), and Roma (Ro). Valencia’s outermost
electrons fall into the second energy level. The noble gas with the greatest atomic mass is Liverpool. The
only noble gas without 8 valence electrons is Ajax.
4) Benfica (Bn), Eindhoven (Ei), Sporting (Sp), and Manchester (Mr) are all Alkali metals. Of these,
Liverpool and Manchester are in the same period, and Sporting has the lowest atomic mass.
5) The lightest element on the periodic table is called Dynamo (Dn).The most chemically active nonmetal
is called Atalanta. The most metallic element is Benfica. . The heaviest element on the planet is Lyon
(Ly). Remember that metallic character increases as you go from right to left across the table and as you
go down a group. Reactivity for metals typically increases as you go from top to bottom within a
column and for nonmetals from bottom to top within a column.
6) The metalloids are Lazio (Lz), Besiktas (Bs), Arsenal (Ae), Schalke (Sh). Besiktas and Lazio are in
Group 14. Besiktas has more protons than Lazio. Villarreal (Vi) is just a light metal even though it’s
found with the metalloids. The metalloid with the highest atomic mass is Arsenal, and Schalke is the
metalloid with lowest atomic mass.
7) The element Chelsea (Ch) has 3 valence electrons. The elements Monaco (Mc) and Salzburg (Sa) both
have two valence electrons. Mc has 5 energy levels (rings), while Salzburg had three.
8) Porto (Pr), Milan (Mi), and Napoli (Np) all have 6 valence electrons. Mi has a lower atomic number
than Porto.
9) Both Barcelona (Bc) and Juventus (Ju) have atoms with four energy levels. Stuttgart (Su) is a black
crystal and has 4 electrons in its outermost energy level. Juventus is less metallic than Barcelona.
10) Gremio (Gr), Sevilla (Sv), and Arsenal (Ae) are all members of Group 15. Sevilla has more total
electrons than Gremio.
11) Flamengo (Fa) only has 4 protons in its nucleus.
Analysis Questions:
1) Drawing Conclusions List the Earth names for the 30 alien elements in order of atomic number.
Atomic #:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
49
50
Alien Element Name:
Alien Element Symbol:
Earth Element Name:
Earth Element Symbol:
2) Were you able to place some elements within the periodic table with just a single clue? Explain using
examples.
3) Why did you need two or more clues to place other elements? Explain using examples.
4) Why could you use clues about atomic mass to place elements, even though the table is now based on
atomic number?
5) Write 2-3 sentences describing which group(s) of elements are not included in the alien periodic table
and explaining whether or not you think it is likely that an alien planet would lack these elements.
6) BONUS:Notice that Period 5 is incomplete on the alien periodic table. Create names and symbols for
each of the missing elements. Then, compose a series of clues that would allow another student to
identify these elements. Make your clues as precise as possible.