Periodic Table Intro: Parts of a Whole
A student example.Copyright 2023 Erone Cao
The Periodic Table is an icon of organizing for chemistry as well as other disciplines including chemical engineering. The table also represents an important way to understand how to sort and identify objects based on specific criteria. In this activity, students submit a picture of a unique “one-of-a-kind” item they own. They then create diagrams that sort these various items based on categories of their choosing. They discuss the process as a class, drawing upon similarities to the creation of the Periodic Table: identifying individual characteristics of an object/element, and sorting objects/elements into rows and columns based on similar characteristics.
Sorting objects by specific criteria is a fundamental engineering skill, which is paired here with the scientific concepts in the Periodic Table. Using the Periodic Table as a model for categorizing and sorting objects, students can develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. This process is commonly found in everyday engineering, such as product design, where engineers identify and sort different materials based on their properties and functions. In chemistry for example, substances may be classified by viscosity, reactivity, toxicity, etc. The Periodic Table provides a useful model for this process, with elements sorted into groups based on similar properties.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe the basic shape of the Periodic Table using appropriate vocabulary.
- Identify and explain the information contained in a single square on the Periodic Table.
- Explain how elements are categorized, based on their locations on the Periodic Table.
- Predict characteristics of an element based on its location on the Periodic Table.