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Activity 2: Mendeleevs Garden Elements and Their Properties

You have been in chemistry class for around a week now, but as you will see, youve been friendly with elements since you were conceived. As PT Atkins mentions in his book The Periodic Kingdom, because our brains are made up of elements, even our opinions areproperties of the elements. (3) Today we are going to have a more formal introduction to the elements by exploring a few properties of an unknown element and a compound of each element to experience what Mendeleev (Fig 2.1), the first cartographer (mapper) of the periodic table, and others did as they attempted to put together the first periodic table of elements. You read about Mendeleev in Active Chemistry now you get to have a common experience with him!
Fig 2.1

You will work through preparing, experimenting, analyzing, and critical thinking to gain a better understanding of elements and the organization of the periodic table.

P R E P A R I N G DISCUSSIO N LEARNING OBJ ECT IVES

The periodic table is something that has probably been in every science classroom in some form or another. Consider what you may have learned in the past about the modern periodic table of the elements. 1. How do we break down the current model of the periodic table into sets of elements? 2. What chemical or physical properties of the elements do you think determine these sets? Discuss your thoughts on these two questions with your partners. Summarize your discussion in the preparing section. In this lab you are to gain a better appreciation for the elements, their properties and the resulting organization on the periodic table of the elements. Restate this objective in the preparing section of your laboratory notebook.

Based on Active Chemistry, Periodic Table

E X P E R I M E N T I N G ELEMENT S PRO PERT IES DEDUCING T HE PERIODIC T ABLE

Part A: Determining the Properties of Elements

In this part of the investigation you will test four properties of nine unknown elements with symbols A, D, E, F, G, L, M, N, and Q (you can make up names beginning with these letters for each if you so desire). The four properties you will test are conductivity, reaction with acid, the pH of the elements oxide compound (if one forms), and physical observations. 1. Create a table spanning both columns of your experimenting entry with a row for each element and columns for each property like the one started below. Table 1: Properties of the Unknown Elements Element Reaction Conductivity Physical Observations Symbol w/ Acid A Q E 2. Test the conductivity of each element with the conductivity probe. If the LED on the probe does night light red, the element does not conduct. If it lights dimly, it is a semiconductor. If the probes LED flashes brightly, it is highly conductive. Record your procedure in the left column (procedure) and any notable observations in the right column (observations). Record your data in your data table. 3. Test each elements reaction with acid. To do this, place a small sample of your element into a well of a clean spot plate. Drop about 20 drops of 3.0 M HCl (three molar hydrochloric acid solution) onto each piece (cover the piece). Observe the well plate under the stereomicroscope to look for signs (at the macroscale) for a chemical reaction. Let the metals sit for at least five minutes and observe again. As always, record your procedure in the left column (procedure) and your observations in the right column (observations). [Ill stop writing this lineI think you get the idea of how to write your experimenting section. If not, ask!] 4. Make observations of the physical appearance of each element and record these in your data table. 5. To determine the pH of the oxides: a. Place a VERY small sample of the solid oxides into individual well plates. Fill the rest of the well with distilled water and mix carefully with a small scoopula. b. Add a few drops of universal indicator (UI) to each well. Look on the edges to see how the UI changed. Match with the colors on the scale or sample in the classroom (demo). c. To find the pH of the oxides of the other two elements A & G, which are gasses and not solids, your instructor has bubbled AO2 into a jar containing water and a pH indicator, universal indicator (UI). Observe AO2 under the fume hood and record your results (note: the scale for UI is in the fume hood as well). For GO2 you will use the gas generator in your group of 4 or 5. Your instructor will demo this for you (ask him to come over to your group).
Based on Active Chemistry, Periodic Table

Oxide Formula

pH

Real Element Will learn later

QO3

01

d. Element Q has no oxide to observe, though possible combinations are on the board or posted back in under the fume hood it is very acidic!

Based on Active Chemistry, Periodic Table

Part B: Deducing the Periodic Table

You have a stack of cards in front of you. Create a card for each of your nine elements filling in the information presented in Figure 2.2. Your task is twofold: 1. Create order by looking for trends, similarities, and difference in each of the properties. 2. Draw a draft of your version of a periodic table, pretending as if these were the only nine elements that you knew existed (span both columns in your notebook).
Symbol pH of oxide Oxide state of matter Conductivity Formula of its oxide XbOc Reaction w/ Acid

Physical Description

Fig 2.2

A
Garde

A N A L Y Z I N G READING QUEST IONS

Reading: Mendeleevn s

Read Uncle Tungsten, Chapter 16 page 187 page 202. As you read, reflect on the following guiding questions. 1. What specific properties are mentioned in the organization of the real periodic table? How do they relate to the current model (pages 192 193)? 2. What was so amazing about Mendeleevs predictions (beginning on page 199)? 3. What was the significance of Argon as a discovery in 1894 (end of reading)? 4. What terms do you not understand or know?

Questions: Mendeleevn Garde s

1. Which of your elements do you think were metals? Nonmetals? Semi-metals (metalloids)? Explain, stating the criteria you used to define metal or nonmetal. 2. How do you define element? Compound? 3. After taking your in class quiz, make sure you go back and state what the elements really are in the experimenting section of your lab (or here if you dont have room).

Based on Active Chemistry, Periodic Table

CT

C R I T I C A L L Y

T H I N K I N G

MEAN? KNOW? BELIEVE? CARE?

What does the activity mean?

Chemistry explains the macroscopic phenomenon (what you observe) with and explanation of what happens at the nanoscopic level (atoms and molecules) using symbolic structures as a way to communicate. Explain the meaning of this activity by completing the MNS table.
M
ACR O

ANO

YMB OLIC

What properties did you use to determine the difference between elements?

Based on your prior knowledge, what is the difference between individual particles (atoms) of different elements at the nanoscale?

How do we represent elements? How do we represent compounds of elements?

How do I know?
Making specific reference to you data, how did you know which elements were metals, nonmetals, or metalloids?

Why do I believe?
Because different elements possess different properties, they have many different uses. For example, since copper metal is a good electrical conductor, it is used as speaker wire. Choose two of the elements you worked with in this lab and suggest a use for them based on a particular property they exhibit.

Why do I care?
Knowledge of how elements are classified or grouped is important to have in analyzing alternative models of the periodic table. Reflect back on all of the various ways your classmates grouped the elements in Part B. Briefly describe two or three of these ways in enough detail that someone who hasnt seen the model but is familiar with the elements can understand it.

Based on Active Chemistry, Periodic Table