Organisation of the periodic tableIB MYP Sciences: Mind map

Exam questions on Organisation of the periodic table

1. A school in Kuala Lumpur prints a large periodic table for its laboratory wall. Students use it to find the symbol, the group and the period of each element, and to decide whether an element is a metal, a non-metal or a metalloid.
   Describe where metals and non-metals are found in the periodic table.2 marks
2. A student is making his own copy of the periodic table. He has a card for each element showing only its electron configuration, for example fluorine 2,7 and chlorine 2,8,7, and he places each card in the group and period that its electrons indicate.
   Explain why fluorine and chlorine are placed in the same group but in different periods.2 marks
3. In 1869 Dmitri Mendeleev arranged the 63 elements known at the time in order of increasing atomic mass, but moved a few so that elements with similar properties fell in the same column. He also left gaps for elements that had not yet been discovered. He predicted that the missing element below silicon would have a relative atomic mass of about 72, a density of about 5.5 g/cm³, a grey colour and an oxide with the formula XO₂. In 1886 germanium was discovered. It has a relative atomic mass of 72.6, a density of 5.35 g/cm³, a grey colour and an oxide with the formula GeO₂.
   Describe how Mendeleev organised his periodic table, and why he left gaps in it.3 marks