Interactive Periodic Table of Elements

I am always on the lookout for interactive websites that students can use in science and below is one that requires students to use critical thinking skills as they learn about the Periodic Table of Elements.

The Periodic Table

The Periodic Table by Anneberg Media is an interactive Web site where students can learn about the Periodic Table of the Elements: how it is organized (into groups); the atomic structure of each group; characteristics of isotopes; the scientific notation that is used to define atoms and elements; and how the chemical properties of elements are determined by their atomic composition.

Student Interaction

Students:

1. explore the basics of the atom and how scientists came to understand its structure, learn how the number of protons in an atom determines what element it is, and discover how elements, which interact to make up all living things and materials in the world, can be organized and understood using the Periodic Table.
2. learn about atomic structure, including how negatively charged electrons fill the orbitals of atoms and how the placement of electrons affects the chemical nature of elements; students will also learn the notation systems that are used to describe the orbital configuration.
3. explore the Periodic Table further to learn how it can be divided into groups (the vertical columns of the table) and periods (the horizontal rows); that atoms can come in different types of forms like isotopes; (how to calculate the mass of an atom, and how the properties of those groups and periods vary depending on the structure of each atom.
4. investigate the characteristics of families of elements, such as the halogen family and noble gases.

Additional Resources

Web Elements by the University of Sheffield

Periodic Table by Los Alamos National Laboratory