Station 1
Dimitri Mendeleev: Father of the Periodic Table.
 Mendeleev organized elements according to their
chemical and physical properties
 Arrangement allowed him to predict the existence and
properties of three missing elements (Ga, Sc, and Ge).
 Periodic means repeating pattern
 Mendeleev’s periodic table is arrange in order of
increasing atomic mass
 Biography: http://www.famousscientists.org/dmitri-mendeleev/
Henry Moseley:
 Moseley rearranged Mendeleev’s periodic table.
 His periodic table is arranged in order of increasing
atomic number (number of protons).
 This is the way our current periodic table is still
organized.
 H. G. J. Moseley was one of the many remarkable
scientists who worked with Ernest Rutherford. In 1913,
Moseley found that the wavelengths of X-rays emitted by an element are related in
precise way to the atomic number of the element. This discovery led to the
realization that atomic number, related to the electrical properties of the atom, was
more fundamental to determining the properties of the elements than atomic weight.
This put the ideas of the periodic table on a more fundamental footing.
 Moseley’s scientific career was very short. He enlisted in the British army during
WWI and died in the battle in the Gallipoli campaign in 1915.
 Biography: http://www.famousscientists.org/henry-moseley/
Periodic Law:
 Properties of the elements are periodic functions of atomic number. When elements
are arranged by order of atomic number, within a group their chemical and physical
properties are similar to one another.
Station 2
Seaborg:
If it were possible to associate a human face with the modern periodic table,
that face would most likely belong to Glenn Seaborg (1912–1999), the
discoverer of ten transuranium elements and the name behind Element 106.
Seaborg’s contributions to heavy-element chemistry began in 1940, when he
and coworkers at the University of California at Berkeley produced the first
sample of plutonium by bombarding uranium with deuterons (21 H nuclei) in
a particle accelerator. They found that the isotope plutonium-239 undergoes
nuclear fission (see Chapter 26), making it a potential energy source for
nuclear power or nuclear weapons.
As American involvement in World War II grew, President Franklin Roosevelt
called Seaborg and other eminent scientists to the Wartime Metallurgical
Laboratory at the University of Chicago, where they figured out how to
prepare and purify plutonium-239 in useful quantities for the Manhatten Project, the making of the atom bomb.
In 1945, Seaborg was one of the signers of the Franck Report, a document recommending that a safe
demonstration test of the atomic bomb might persuade Japan to surrender without the bomb actually being
used. Professor Seaborg served as a scientific advisor for nine other presidents following Roosevelt and was
chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission under Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.
Seaborg’s contributions illustrate how certain areas of science can be highly influenced by a particular institution or
even a national tradition over time. His discovery of plutonium at the University of California at Berkeley followed
the 1940 synthesis of neptunium at the same site by Edwin McMillan, who shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in
chemistry with Seaborg for these accomplishments. Since that time, Seaborg and other teams involving Berkeley
researchers at the University’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory have prepared nine more heavy elements. He and
coworkers hold the world’s only patents on chemical elements, for americium and curium. The original location of
the first transuranium laboratory on the Berkeley campus (a few yards from the later site of Professor Seaborg’s
reserved “Nobel Laureate” parking space) is now a national historic landmark.
Laboratories in the United States, Russia, and Germany have been the most active in the synthesis of new
elements. In 1994, nationalistic feelings invaded what should have been impartial decisions by the International
Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) regarding the official names for elements 101 and 109. In some
cases, researchers from different countries had proposed different names for these elements based on where
credit for their discovery was felt to be deserved. For example, the name “hahnium” was proposed for element 105
by American researchers, while the Russians preferred the snappier “nielsbohrium.” The American Chemical
Society proposed to name element 106 seaborgium (Sg), but the IUPAC’s nomenclature committee rejected the
choice, objecting to the fact that Seaborg was still alive (“and they can prove it,” he quipped). Outrage at this and
some of the other naming decisions prompted many scientists to ignore the IUPAC’s recommended name for 106,
rutherfordium, and to continue to use seaborgium. In 1997, the IUPAC reversed its decision and endorsed Sg,
saving the chemical literature from future confusion caused by different naming practices in the scientific journals
and conferences of different countries.
If Professor Seaborg had been nominated for a different honor—appearance on a U.S. postage stamp—the story
would have had an unhappier ending. Although surely not as rare a commodity as the names of new chemical
elements, United States stamps are not permitted to honor living individuals. Seaborg would have been the only
person in the world who could have received mail addressed entirely in elements : Seaborgium, Lawrencium (for
the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory), Berkelium, Californium, Americium—and don’t forget the ZIP code, 94720
Station 3
Modern Periodic Table:
 Arranged in rows or “periods” with the same # of energy levels of electrons.
 The elements are in groups or “families” with similar physical and chemical
properties and the same # of valence electrons.
Metals:




Most of the elements on the periodic table are metals.
Located to the LEFT of the zig-zag line
All are solids at room temperature except mercury (Hg), which is a liquid.
Gallium (Ga) is the only metal that is a liquid at human body temperature.
Station 4
Alkali Metals:
Group 1, color Hydrogen in this group YELLOW, then color the rest of this
group RED on your periodic table.
 Traits: soft, silvery metals that have a low density. They are the most
reactive metals and are NOT found by themselves in nature (they are
always in compounds). Explosive when exposed to air or water.
 Uses: used in soaps, lights, and are present in the body (electrolytes).
Alkaline Earth Metals:
Group 2, color this group BROWN on your periodic table.
 Traits: harder, denser and stronger than the Alkali metals. Silvery in
color. They are the second most reactive metals and are not found by
themselves in nature (they are found in compounds).
 Uses: gemstones, limestone, marble, alloys for aircraft, truck bodies,
fireworks and flares. Calcium needed for strong bones and teeth.
Group 1
H
Li
Na
K
Rb
Cs
Fr
Group 2
Be
Mg
Ca
Sr
Ba
Ra
Station 5
Transition Metals:
Groups 3-12, label these groups and color them VIOLET on your periodic table.
 Traits: hard, silvery, solid metals that have a high density. High luster (shiny),
malleable, ductile, and good conductors of heat and electricity. They are less
reactive than groups 1 or 2 and many are found by themselves in nature.
 Uses: paint, steel, coins, electrical wiring, plumbing, jewelry, construction.
Sc
Y
La
Ac
Ti
Zr
Hf
Rf
V
Nb
Ta
Db
Cr
Mo
W
Sg
Mn
Tc
Re
Bh
Fe
Ru
Os
Hs
Co
Rh
Ir
Mt
Ni
Pd
Pt
Cu
Ag
Au
Zn
Cd
Hg
Inner Transition Metals:
Lanthanide and Actinide Series. Color these groups ORANGE on your periodic table.
 Traits: shiny, silvery, reactive metals that have high melting points.
 Lanthanides are usually found in compounds
 Actinides are all radioactive (unstable). Many are artificially reproduced. Only Th,
Pa, U, and Np are found in nature.
 Uses: Lanthanides are used in TV tubes, Actinides are used in medical treatments
and nuclear reactors.
Ce Pr
Th Pa
Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
Station 6
Metalloids:
Elements along the stair-step line. Color these YELLOW-GREEN on your periodic
table.
 Traits: have properties of both metals and nonmetals. Semiconductors. Good
electrical conductors at high temperatures, good insulators at low temperatures.
 Uses: computer chips and glass
B
Al
Ga
In
Tl
C
Si
Ge
Sn
Pb
N
P
As
Sb
Bi
O
S
Se
Te
Po
F
Cl
Br
I
At
Nonmetals:
Elements to the right of the stair step (and Hydrogen), color these YELLOW on your
periodic table. Color the elements to the left of the stair step pink.
 Traits: Poor electrical conductors but are good insulators. They don’t have luster
and are brittle in the solid form. They are nonductile. They exist in various phases
of matter (solid, liquid, gas).
 Uses: many are needed for your health
He
Metals
B
C N O F Ne
Al Si P S Cl ArNon-metals
Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
In Sn Sb Te I Xe
Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
Station 7
Halogens:
Group 17
Group 17, label and color these SKY BLUE on your periodic table.
 Traits: Flourine and Chlorine are yellow-green gases. Bromine is a dark
red liquid. Iodine is a purple-black crystalline solid.
 This is the most reactive group of nonmetals.
 Uses: radioactive iodine is used to treat cancer, other uses include,
gemstones, bones, teeth, DNA, medicines, organic compounds, Xerox
copying, bleach, antiseptics.
F
Cl
Br
I
At
The halogens all have a strong unpleasant odor and will burn flesh. They do not
dissolve well in water. The five elements are strongly electronegative. They are
oxidizing agents, with fluorine being the strongest and astatine being the weakest.
They react with most metals and many non-metals.
As the atomic structure of the halogens becomes more complex with increasing atomic
weight, there is a gradation in physical properties. For example: Fluorine is a pale
green gas of low density. Chlorine is a greenish-yellow gas 1.892 times as dense as
fluorine. Bromine is a deep reddish-brown liquid which is three times as dense as
water. Iodine is a grayish-black crystalline solid with a metallic appearance. Lastly,
astatine is a solid with properties which indicate that it is somewhat metallic in
character.
Noble Gases:
Group 18, label and color these MAGENTA on your periodic table.
 Traits: no chemical reactivity (inert). All are gases. Outer energy level full.
 Uses: hot air balloons, glowing lights
Group 18
He
Ne
Ar
Kr
Xe
Rn
Station 8
Chemical Properties
METALS
NONMETALS
 Usually have 1-3 electrons in
their outer shell.
 Lose their valence electrons
easily.
 Form oxides that are basic.
 Are good reducing agents.
 Have lower electronegativities.
 Usually have 4-8 electrons in
their outer shell.
 Gain or share valence electrons
easily.
 Form oxides that are acidic.
 Are good oxidizing agents.
 Have higher electronegativities.
Physical Properties
METALS
NONMETALS







Good electrical conductors and
heat conductors.
Malleable- can be beaten into thin
sheets.
Ductile- can be stretched into
wire.
Possess metallic luster.
Opaque as thin sheet.
Solid at room temperature
(except Hg).





Poor conductors of heat and
electricity.
Brittle- if a solid.
Nonductile.
Do not possess metallic luster.
Transparent as a thin sheet.
Solids, liquids or gases at room
temperature.