Organization of the Periodic Table
AIM
How is the periodic table organized and what does it tell us?
OBJECTIVES
Students will know research properties of elements. Students will know how to determine the
number of subatomic particles in an element based on the atomic number and atomic mass.
Students will use the properties of an element to organize elements into the order on the periodic
table.
STANDARDS
NYS Standard 4, The Physical Setting
3.1f The mass of each proton and each neutron is approximately equal to one atomic mass
unit. An electron is much less massive than a proton or neutron.
3.1y The placement or location of an element on the Periodic Table gives an indication of
physical and chemical properties of that element. The elements on the Periodic Table are
arranged in order of increasing atomic number.
3.1w Elements can be differentiated by their physical properties. Physical properties of
substances, such as density, conductivity, malleability, solubility, and hardness, differ
among elements.
DEVELOPMENT
1. (20 minutes; 10:30-10:50) Element advertisement
a. A student will read the instructions for the activity. The teacher will review how
to determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Can someone read the components that must be included? How do you determine number
of protons, the number of neutrons, and the number of electrons?
Write down the formula to determine each on board.
Point out how to use the periodic table.
b. Students will make an advertisement for the element of their choice. They will be
required to include 9 components that include element name, element symbol,
atomic number, # of protons, neutrons and electrons, uses, picture representative
of element, and slogan to sell the element. Students can use prior knowledge and
the included packet.
Circulate and help students with assignment.
c. Several students will share element advertisements.
2. (5 minutes; 10:50-10:55) Discussion on element grouping
Write elements on the board.
If you wanted to access the information quickly, how would you arrange the elements?
What properties or components that you wrote would you use to group them?
Based on the elements written on the board, how could you group them and why?
3. (15 minutes; 10:55-11:10) Periodic table activity
a. A student will pass out the task sheet and element cards.
b. A student will read the instructions for the activity.
c. Students will work in groups and use the task sheet to guide their determination of
the unknown elements.
d. Students will share how they determined the unknown elements.
4. (5 minutes; 11:10-11:15) Summary/Clean-up
a. Students will clean up materials from the activities by placing all materials in the
folders. Then, students will discuss how the periodic table is arranged. The
teacher should emphasize that the periodic table is arranged based on the
physical properties of the elements and the arrangement was determined by
a person.
SUMMARY
The periodic table is arranged based on physical properties of the elements.
ATTACHMENTS: element advertisement worksheet, element properties, periodic table task
sheet, periodic table activity element cards
MATERIALS
each group (5): 5 element ad worksheets, 1 box colored pencils, 1 element uses packet, 1
periodic table, 1 group of periodic table element cards, 1 periodic table task sheet
FOLLOW UP
Remaining periodic table element cards and unknowns
NAME ___________________________________
DATE __________________
ELEMENT ADVERTISEMENT
Choose an element from the packet in your group’s folder. Use your prior knowledge or the
information in the packet to fill out the sheet on your own. In the box below draw something that
represents your element. Make sure to come up with a great slogan to sell your element!
ELEMENT NAME ______________________________________________________
ELEMENT SYMBOL ____________
# of Protons _____
ATOMIC NUMBER _________________
# of Electrons _____
# of Neutrons _____
USES _________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
SLOGAN:
Element
Atomic #
Helium (He) 2
Atomic Mass
4
Lithium (Li)
3
6.9

Beryllium
(Be)
4
9.0





Carbon (C)
6
12.0



Fluorine (F)
9
19



Neon (Ne)
10
20.1


Uses
Helium is used for filling balloons (blimps) and for pressurizing liquid fuel rockets.
Mixtures of helium and oxygen are used as an artificial 'air' for divers and others
working under pressure. Helium is used instead of the nitrogen in normal air
because, after a long dive, helium leaves the body faster than nitrogen, allowing
faster decompression.
Pure lithium metal is used in rechargeable lithium ion batteries and the metal is
used as an alloy with aluminum, copper, manganese, and cadmium to make high
performance aircraft parts.
Lithium carbonate is used as a mood-stabilizing drug.
Unlike most metals, beryllium is virtually transparent to x-rays and hence it is used
in radiation windows for x-ray tubes.
Beryllium alloys are used in the aerospace industry as light-weight materials for
high performance aircraft, satellites and spacecraft.
Carbon (coal) is used as a fuel.
Carbon forms a vast number of compounds with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and
other elements. Its ability to form long-chained, complex compounds has resulted
in carbon acting as the basis of all life on Earth.
The outstanding physical properties - for example thermal conductivity and
strength - of new carbon allotropes, such as nanotubes, show enormous potential
for future development.
Fluorine and its compounds are used in uranium processing and in the production
of fluorochemicals, including many high-temperature plastics such as Teflon.
Compounds of fluorine, including sodium fluoride, are used in toothpaste and in
drinking water to prevent dental cavities.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were used in as refrigerants in air conditioning units
and freezers but they have now been banned because they contribute to ozone
depletion.
When a few thousand volts is applied to neon, it emits an orange/red light. It is
therefore often used in brightly lit advertising signs.
Liquid neon is used as a cryogenic refrigerant.
Element
Sodium
(Na)
Atomic #
11
Atomic Mass
23.0



Magnesium
(Mg)
12
24.3




Silicon (Si)
14
28.1



Chlorine
(Cl)
17
35.5



Uses
Sodium vapor lamps are highly efficient in producing light from electricity and are
often used for street lighting in cities.
Sodium is used as a heat transfer agent; for example, liquid sodium is used to cool
nuclear reactors.
Sodium chloride (table salt, NaCl) is vital for good nutrition. Sodium ions facilitate
transmission of electrical signals in the nervous system and regulate the water
balance between body cells and body fluids.
The brilliant light it produces when ignited is made use of in photography, flares,
pyrotechnics and incendiary bombs. .
The metal is widely used in the manufacturing of mobile phones, laptop computers,
cameras, and other electronic components.
Magnesium compounds such as the hydroxide (milk of magnesia, Mg(OH2)),
sulfate (Epsom salts), chloride and citrate are used for medicinal purposes.
Magnesium is the second most important intracellular cation and is involved in a
variety of metabolic processes including glucose metabolism, ion channel
translocation, stimulus-contraction coupling, stimulus secretion coupling, peptide
hormone receptor signal transduction.
Silicon chips are the basis of modern electronic and computing. The silicon must be
ultrapure, although depending on final use it may be doped with part per million
levels of arsenic, boron, gallium, germanium, or phosphorus.
Silica (SiO2) in sand and minerals in clay is used to make concrete and bricks.
Silica, as sand, is also the main constituent of glass.
Silicones are important silicon based polymers. Having heat-resistant, nonstick, and
rubber-like properties, silicones are often used in cookware, medicine (implants),
and as sealants, adhesives, lubricants, and for insulation.
Chlorine is used for producing safe drinking water.
Chlorinated compounds are used mostly for sanitation, pulp bleaching,
disinfectants, and textile processing.
Other uses of chlorine compounds include dyestuffs, petroleum products,
medicines, antiseptics, insecticides, foodstuffs, solvents, paints and plastics.
Element
Argon (Ar)
Atomic #
18
Atomic Mass
40.0


Potassium
(K)
19
39.1
Calcium
(Ca)
20
40.1
Copper (Cu)
29
63.5









Gallium
(Ga)
Germanium
(Ge)
31
69.7
32
72.6






Bromine
35
79.9

Uses
As a result of its unreactiveness, argon is used in light bulbs to protect the filament
and to provide an unreactive atmosphere in the vicinity of welding.
Argon is used in medical lasers, in ophthalmology for example to correct eye
defects such as blood vessel leakage, retinal detachment, glaucoma and macular
degeneration.
Potassium is vital for plant growth. Plants use it, for example, to make proteins,
hence the greatest demand for potassium compounds is in fertilizers.
Potassium chloride is used as a healthier alternative to table salt.
Potassium nitrate is the main explosive ingredient in gunpowder.
It is used in the manufacture of other metals such as uranium and thorium.
Calcium is used to remove oxygen, sulfur and carbon from alloys.
Calcium from limestone is a vital component of Portland cement.
Quicklime (CaO) is used in many applications in the chemical industry, such as
treatment of drinking water - especially for water softening and arsenic removal,
animal waste and wastewater.
As a result of its excellent electrical conductivity, copper's most common use is in
electrical equipment such as wiring and motors.
Because it corrodes slowly, copper is used in roofing, guttering, and as rainspouts
on buildings.
It is also used in plumbing and in cookware and cooking utensils.
Copper sulfate is used as a fungicide and as an algicide in rivers, lakes and ponds.
Low melting gallium alloys are used in some medical thermometers as non-toxic
substitutes for mercury.
The most common use of germanium is as a semiconductor.
Germanium is used in transistors and in integrated circuits. It is used as an alloying
agent and as a catalyst.
Some germanium compounds are useful because they are toxic to bacteria but are
harmless for mammals.
Bromine compounds are used as pesticides, dyestuffs, water purification
(Br)

Element
Krypton
(Kr)
Atomic #
36
Atomic Mass
83.8



Rubidium
(Rb)
Strontium
(Sr)
Silver (Ag)
37
38
47
85.5

87.6


107.9






Indium (In)
49
114.8



Tin (Sn)
50
118.7



compounds, and as a flame-retardants in plastics.
Potassium bromide is used as a source of bromide ions for the manufacture of
silver bromide for photographic film.
Uses
Krypton is used in lighting products. An important lighting use is also in highpowered, flashing airport runway lights.
Krypton is employed alongside other gases to make luminous 'neon light' style
signs that glow with a greenish-yellow light.
It is used as a filling gas for energy saving fluorescent lights and as an inert filling
gas in incandescent bulbs.
Rubidium is used in photocells, as a getter (remover of trace gases) in vacuum
tubes and as working fluid in vapor turbines.
Rubidium compounds give a purple color in fireworks.
Strontium is used for producing glass (cathode ray tubes) for color televisions. It is
also used in producing ferrite ceramic magnets and in refining zinc.
Strontium salts are used in flares and fireworks for a crimson color.
Strontium chloride is used in toothpaste for sensitive teeth.
It is used in cancer therapy.
Sterling silver (an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper) or Britannia silver (an
alloy of 95.8% silver and 4.2% copper) are used for jewelry and silverware.
Silver is used as a food additive/coloring and is given the E number E174.
About 30% of silver produced is used in the photographic industry, mostly as silver
nitrate.
Silver iodide is used in artificial rain making to seed clouds.
Silver compounds were used successfully to prevent infection in World War 1.
An alloy with 24% indium and 76% gallium, for example, melts at 16 oC. This type
of alloy can be used as a non-toxic alternative to mercury in some applications.
Indium-tin oxide thin films are used for liquid crystal displays (LCDs).
Tin is used as a coating on the surface of other metals to prevent corrosion. 'Tin'
cans, for example, are made of tin-coated steel.
Alloys of tin are commercially important in, for example, soft solder, pewter,
bronze and phosphor bronze.


Element
Iodine (I)
Atomic #
53
Atomic Mass
126.9


Xenon (Xe)
54
131.2




Cesium (Cs)
55
132.9



Barium (Ba)
56
137.3


197.0


Gold (Au)
79


Thallium
81
204.4


Tin chloride (stannous chloride, SnCl2) is used as a mordant in dyeing textiles and
for increasing the weight of silk.
Stannous fluoride (SnF2) is used in some toothpastes.
Uses
Iodine is important in medicine, in both radioactive and non-radioactive forms.
Iodide and thyroxin, which contains iodine, are used inside the body.
A solution containing potassium iodide (KI) and iodine in alcohol is used to
disinfect external wounds. Elemental iodine is also used as a disinfectant.
Silver iodide is used in photography.
Iodine is sometimes added to table salt to prevent thyroid disease.
Iodine's other uses include catalysts, animal feeds and printing inks and dyes.
Xenon is used in photographic flashes, in high pressure arc lamps for motion
picture projection, and in high pressure arc lamps to produce ultraviolet light.
It is used in instruments for radiation detection.
Xenon is used in medicine as a general anaesthetic and in medical imaging.
Cesium is also used in photoelectric cells and as a catalyst in the hydrogenation of
organic compounds. The metal is used as a 'getter' in vacuum tubes.
Cesium hydroxide is used to etch silicon.
Barium is used as a "flashed getter" in vacuum tubes to remove the last traces of
gases.
An alloy of barium with nickel is used in sparkplug wire.
Gold is widely used in jewelry and coinage. It is also used in dental work as
crowns, as gold plating for decoration and as gold thread in embroidery work.
Many satellites carry gold-coated mylar sheets as a solar heat shield because gold is
an excellent reflector of radiation and unreactive. Similarly astronaut's helmet
visors are coated with a thin layer of gold to guard against dangerous effects of
solar radiation.
The isotope 198Au, with a half-life of 2.7 days, is used for treating cancers especially of the bladder, cervix, and prostate.
Gold flake is added to some gourmet sweets and drinks.
Thallium sulfate, which is odorless and colorless, was used as a rat poison and as
(Tl)
Lead (Pb)
82
207.2


an insecticide.
Thallium is also used in gamma radiation detection equipment.
Large quantities of lead, both as the metal and as the dioxide, are used in storage
batteries. The metal is used as shielding from radiation, e.g. in x-ray rooms.and
nuclear reactors.
PERIODIC TABLE ACTIVITY
Group work
1. Using the periodic table, set out the cards for the elements as they are seen on the
periodic table. You should have 5 columns of cards.
2. Look at the unknown element cards. Place the unknown elements in the columns
based on the properties listed on the cards.
The properties of the elements will show a trend down columns only.
3. Write down the elements that correspond to the unknown elements on the periodic
table. Be prepared to defend your answers.
Unknown #2 _____________
Unknown #3 _____________
Unknown #4 _____________
Unknown #5 _____________
Unknown #7 _____________
Unknown #8 _____________
If you finish early:
Unknown #1 _____________
Unknown #6 _____________
Unknown #9 _____________