Student-Made Periodic Table
Betsy St. John and Gordon Stevens
San Rafael High School, San Rafael, CA 94902
High school chemistry teachers frequently encounter the
problem of having to create imaginative homework assign-
ments that are fun for high school youngsters yet zero in on
expanding their working knowledge of chemistry. We think
we have come up with an assignment that boosts student
self-esteem by displaying their creative artwork and awak-
ens interest in the high school library-an often neglected
source of chemical information.
Having high school students write formal reports on
chemical elements can be educationally deadly. In a typical
high school classroom the range of abilities is so great that
marking the assignments in a meaningful way is nearly im-
possible. We have devised a variation on this assignment
that has transformed student enthusiasm 100%. In the as-
signment each student picks a numbered slip of paper out of
a large beaker that becomes the number of hisher assigned
chemical element. Each student is to write a report on his1
her selected chemical element on one side of an El/%-X 11-in.
piece of paper. The student reports are posted on a large
array of sheets of insulation board marked with the outline
of a standard periodic table. This very large, student-made
periodic table is used for class reference throughout the
school year.
School libraries have adequate information in various en-
cyclopedias and technical references. The assignment also
serves as an excellent introduction to the CRC Rubber
Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, which many high
schools have in each chemistry room. Students will need
some guidance in the formats of their reports. The symbol,
atomic number, and molar mass will have to be sufficiently
large and uniformly placed to be easily seen from afar. The
teacher may want a list of physical properties in column
form: melting point, boiling point, density, ionization ener-
gy, etc. Key chemical properties, the element's discoverer,
and its chief uses are some of the many things that can be
Flgure 1. Layout of ludaposltioned sheets insulation board surrounded
mounting rail. Doned lines are edges of insulation board.
IS4 Journal of Chemlcal Education
included as part of the report. We encouraged student cre-
ativitv to include the use of graohics and color.
MAYof the reports we received were spectacular, and we
had nearly a 100% turn-in rate. We found many of the stu-
dents would spontaneously gather around and read the re-
ports of others to themselves. They were amazed how much
interesting information was accessible by perusing these re-
ports.
Construction Plan
Materiels
5 sheets of 4- X 8-ft insulation board
42 ft 2- x 4-in. construction-grade fir
28 l/q. X 3112-in.lag screws and washers
%in. black felt pen
Since the standard neriodic table has 18 columns and seven raws
and each location has'to accommodate an a12- X I I -in. report, four
4 - X 8-ft sheets juxtapositioned in a parallel manner works nicely if
the element locations are 10 X 12 in. in size leaving room for 6-in.
borders at the top, bottom, right, and left of the entire table. M'e
found it easiest to lay the sheets down on the claxsrtrom floor, pencil
in the lines of the periodic table with a straight edge, and then go
over the penciled lines with a ' - i n . felt-tin nm. To do the actinide
and lanihanide series, another sheet of insulation board is cut
lengthwise on a table saw ta make a piece 32 in. X 8 ft. The remain-
Figure 2. Cross sectlon of mounting rail.
me-
by
Figure 3. Student-made periodic table.
ing 16-in. X 8-ft piece is cut into three equal 32- X S i n . pieces and
again juxtapositioned to makes 32-in. X 12-ft array with no scrap
(!). The 10- X 12-in. element locations for the 14-column,two-row
actinide and lanthanide series are penciled in and marked as before
with 4-in. border at the top and bottom and 2-in. borders at the left
and right. The title, periodic table, was printed in large letters in the
appropriate place. The layout of the sheets of insulation hoard are
shown in Figure 1.
Since the assemhled table is impressively large, some care has to
he taken in mounting. Not finding amounting rail that was commer-
cially within our means, we opted to fabricate our own from con-
struction-grade fir using the wood shop's tahle saw. A cross section
of the mounting rail is shown in Figure 2. The assembled, student-
made periodic fable is shown in ~ i g u r e3.
The cost of the project was just under $80. The materials are
available at local building supplies.
Volume 66 Number 2 February 1969 155