I should probably post a warning when I’m going down some rabbit hole. There was a post on the Chemistry Teachers’ group about different types of Periodic Tables. There has been a flurry amount the group about the use of Periodic Tables (PT) on tests, which types, etc. I hadn’t given them any thought. But I use at least four different PTs whenever I teach Chem. There are general PTs with names, such as this one from ACS. Usually I use a black and white copy with names and have the teens color code the groups, similarly to this PT. I use a PT with just the symbols to test the names of elements. (One year I did not require the kids to memorize the names of about 50 elements. That group struggled all year long to locate elements on the PT. I have never repeated that mistake.) Here is the basic PT I use generally.
Blank PTs are useful for The Periodic Periodic Table, a hands-on activity to learn about periodic trends. Here is an older post explaining this activity. Why do teachers use so many different PTs? Take a look at Flinn’s PT. See the numbering at the top? This Table shows both the Roman numerals and Modern numbering system. (There is a push to use 1-18; however, the Roman numerals are useful to assign charges to ions. Teachers still use them.) I use a Periodic Table of Ions, typically as part of a two sided PT. This PT has electron configurations. This PT has properties, such as whether the element is a solid, liquid, or gas at 25 degrees Celsius. Finally, this PT includes electronegativities, which is useful to determine whether a compound is ionic or molecular. See the issue? This will remain one of those unresolved issues which circulate Chemistry forums. Now, I need to decide which ones I’ll use next year.
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