GCSE Chemistry revision

Development of the periodic table

The periodic table

AQA 4.1.2.2 Foundation & Higher

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Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist who, in the mid-19th century, devised the periodic table to organise all known elements.
Mendeleev's table was so accurate that it even predicted the existence of elements that had not yet been discovered at the time.
Everything in the universe is made from different combinations of the elements found in the periodic table.

1. Introduction AQA

Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist who, in the mid-19th century, devised the periodic table to organise all known elements.
Mendeleev's table was so accurate that it even predicted the existence of elements that had not yet been discovered at the time.
Everything in the universe is made from different combinations of the elements found in the periodic table.

Mendeleev noticed that elements displayed repeating patterns of chemical properties at regular intervals, known as periodicity.
A new row, called a period, begins every time the pattern of chemical properties repeats.
Vertical columns are called groups, numbered from 1 on the far left to 7, with the far right column called group 0.
The block of metals between groups 2 and 3, known as transition metals, do not have group numbers and should be ignored when counting groups.

2. Periods and Groups AQA

Mendeleev noticed that elements displayed repeating patterns of chemical properties at regular intervals, known as periodicity.
A new row, called a period, begins every time the pattern of chemical properties repeats.
Vertical columns are called groups, numbered from 1 on the far left to 7, with the far right column called group 0.
The block of metals between groups 2 and 3, known as transition metals, do not have group numbers and should be ignored when counting groups.

A zigzag line running from aluminium to polonium separates the metals on the left from the non-metals on the right.
There are significantly more metals than non-metals in the periodic table.
Within the metals, there is a special block known as the transition metals, which will be explored in more detail separately.

3. Metals and Non-Metals AQA

A zigzag line running from aluminium to polonium separates the metals on the left from the non-metals on the right.
There are significantly more metals than non-metals in the periodic table.
Within the metals, there is a special block known as the transition metals, which will be explored in more detail separately.

Different versions of the periodic table may show the mass number and atomic number in different positions, but they all contain the same information.
You can always identify the atomic number because it is the smaller of the two numbers shown in an element's box.
The periodic table provided in your GCSE exam will follow a standard format similar to the one used throughout your studies.

4. Tips for Using the Periodic Table in Exams AQA

Different versions of the periodic table may show the mass number and atomic number in different positions, but they all contain the same information.
You can always identify the atomic number because it is the smaller of the two numbers shown in an element's box.
The periodic table provided in your GCSE exam will follow a standard format similar to the one used throughout your studies.