DEVELOPMENT

OF THE MODERN
PERIODIC TABLE
OF ELEMENTS
z
 What Periodic Table of
Chemical Elements is?
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 The periodic table of chemical elements, often

called the periodic table, organizes all discovered
chemical elements in rows (called periods) and
columns (called groups) according to increasing
atomic number. Scientists use the periodic table to
quickly refer to information about an element, like
atomic mass and chemical symbol. The periodic
table’s arrangement also allows scientists to
discern trends in element properties, including
electronegativity, ionization energy, and atomic
radius.
 z
 Many scientists worked on the problem of
organizing the elements, but Dmitri Mendeleev
published his first version of the periodic table
in 1869, and is most often credited as its
inventor. Since then, the periodic table has
evolved to reflect over 150 years of scientific
development and understanding in chemistry
and physics. Today, with 118 known elements, it
is widely regarded as one of the most
significant achievements in science.
z
JOHANN WOLFGANG
DOBEREINER
Dobereiner’s
z triads were groups of
elements with similar properties that
were identified by the German chemist
Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner. He
observed that groups of three
elements (triads) could be formed in
which all the elements shared similar
physical and chemical properties.
Dobereiner
z stated in his law of
triads that the arithmetic mean of the
atomic masses of the first and third
elements in a triad would be
approximately equal to the atomic
mass of the second element in that
triad. He also suggested that this law
could be extended to other quantifiable
properties of elements, such as
density.
 z

 The first of Dobereiner’s triads was

identified in the year 1817 and was
constituted of the alkaline earth
metals calcium, strontium, and
barium. Three more triads were
identified by the year 1829. These
triads are tabulated below.
 TRIAD 1
z

This triad was made up of the Alkali metals

lithium, sodium and potassium.

TRIAD ATOMIC MASS

Lithium 6.94
Sodium 22.99
Potassium 39.1

The arithmetic mean of the masses of potassium and

lithium corresponds to 23.02, which is almost equal to
the atomic mass of sodium.
 TRIAD
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 As mentioned earlier, calcium, barium and
strontium formed another one of Dobereiner’s
triads.

TRIAD ATOMIC MASS

Calcium 40.1
Strontium 87.6
Barium 137.3
The mean of the masses of barium and
calcium corresponds to 88.7.
 TRIAD
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The halogens chlorine, bromine, and iodine

constituted one of the triads.
TRIAD ATOMIC MASS
Chlorine 35.4
Bromine 79.9
Iodine 126.9

The mean value of the atomic masses of

chlorine and iodine is 81.1.
 z Limitations of Dobereiner’s
Triads
The key shortcomings of Dobereiner’s method of classifying
elements are listed below.

 The identification of new elements made this model obsolete.

 Newly discovered elements did not fit into the triads.

 Only a total of 5 Dobereiner’s triads were identified.

 Even several known elements did not fit into any of the triads.

Owing to these shortcomings, other methods of classifying

elements were developed.
z
JOHN
ALEXANDER
NEWLANDS
Newland’s
z Law of Octaves
 In the year 1864, the British chemist
John Newlands attempted the 62
elements known at that time. He
arranged them in an ascending order
based on their atomic masses and
observed that every 8th element had
similar properties. Based on this
observation, Newland’s law of octaves
was formulated.
 z
 The law of octaves states that every
eighth element has similar properties
when the elements are arranged in the
increasing order of their atomic masses.
An illustration detailing the elements
holding similar properties as per
Newland’s law of octaves is provided
below.
 Newlands compared the similarity
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between the elements to the octaves

of music, where every eighth note is
comparable to the first. This was the
first attempt at assigning an atomic
number to each element. However,
this method of classifying elements
was met with a lot of resistance in
the scientific community.
 Limitations of Newland’s Law of Octaves
The
z key shortcomings of Newland’s law of octaves are listed
below.

 Several elements fit into the same slots in Newland’s periodic classification.
For example, cobalt and nickel were placed in the same slot.

 Elements with dissimilar properties were grouped. For example, the halogens
were grouped with some metals such as cobalt, nickel, and platinum.

 Newland’s law of octaves held only for elements up to calcium. Elements

with greater atomic masses could not be accommodated into octaves.

 The elements that were discovered later could not fit into the octave pattern.
Therefore, this method of classifying elements did not leave any room for the
discovery of new elements.
 z
Frequently Asked Questions on
Newland’s Law Of Octaves
 Q1

 What is the law of triads?

 The law of triads states that the arithmetic mean

of the atomic masses of the first and third
elements in a triad would be approximately
equal to the atomic mass of the second element
in that triad.
 z

 Q2

 What is the law of octave?

 The law of octave states that every eighth

element has similar properties when the
elements are arranged in the increasing
order of their atomic masses.
 Q3
z
 Why was Dobereiner’s triad discarded?

 Dobereiner’s triad was discarded because it failed to arrange all the

known elements in the form of triads.

 Q4

 Why was the Newlands law of octaves discarded?

 Newlands law of octaves was discarded because it failed to arrange

larger elements beyond Calcium.

 Q5

 What is the law of the modern periodic table?

 The law of the modern periodic table states that the chemical
properties of an element are a periodic function of its atomic
number.
 Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeléev, a Russian
z

chemist, was the most important

contributor to the early development of the
periodic table. Many periodic tables were
made but the most important one was the
Mendeleev periodic table.
 In 1869, after the rejection of Newlands Octave
Law,z Mendeleev’s Periodic table came into the
picture. In Mendeleev’s periodic table,
elements were arranged based on their
fundamental properties, atomic mass, and
chemical properties. During Mendeleev’s work,
only 63 elements were known. After studying
the properties of every element, Mendeleev
found that the properties of elements were
periodically related to atomic mass. He
arranged the elements such that elements with
similar properties fell into the same vertical
columns of the periodic table.
 z
 Among chemical properties, Mendeleev treated
formulate of hydrides and oxides as one of the
basic criteria for categorization. He took 63
cards and on each card, he wrote the properties
of one element. He grouped the elements with
similar properties and pinned it on the wall. He
observed that elements were arranged in the
increasing order of atomic mass and there was
the periodic occurrence of elements with similar
properties.
Merits of Mendeleev Periodic Table
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 Some gaps were left for the elements yet to be discovered.
Thus, if a certain new element is discovered, it can be
placed in a new group without disturbing any existing
group.

Demerits of Mendeleev Periodic Table

 He was unable to locate hydrogen in the periodic table.

 The increase in atomic mass was not regular while moving

from one element to another. Hence, the number of
elements yet to be discovered was not predictable.

 Later on, isotopes of elements were found which violated

Mendeleev’s periodic law.
 Frequently
z Asked Questions
Q1

 What is the law of the Mendeleev periodic table?

 Mendeleev claimed the famous periodic law that “Element properties are a
periodic function of their atomic weight.” Mendeleev placed elements in the
order of their atomic weights in the form of a table known as the Periodic
Table of Mendeleev.

Q2

 What is the difference between Mendeleev and the modern periodic table?

 The main difference is: that the periodic table of Mendeleev is based on
atomic mass. The current periodic table is based on the number of atoms.
Noble gasses (as they were not found at that time) were not included in
Mendeleev’s periodic table. In the Modern periodic table, noble gases are in a
separate group called group-18.
Q3
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 How did Mendeleev find atomic mass?

 Mendeleev was not himself estimating the atomic mass. He

had the information he was working on to see the repeated
properties to find a pattern that turned out to be a chart. He
predicted their atomic mass on the basis of the pattern he
observed for the atoms that were not detected.

Q4

 What is Mendeleev famous for?

 Mendeleyev is best known for his discovery of the periodic law

he adopted in 1869 and the periodic table of elements he
developed. He died on February 2, 1907, in St. Petersburg,
Russia.
z
HENRY
GWYN
JEFFREYS
MOSELEY
 z

Henry Moseley, an English physicist,

showed that atomic number (number of
protons in an atom) determines most of
the properties of an element. He
started his study in Ernest Rutherford’s
laboratory about radioactivity but later
decided to dwell more on X-rays.
 z

 In 1913, he made use of X-ray

Spectroscopy to determine the atomic
number of an element. He shot a beam of
electrons to different elements and
determined the unique frequencies of the
line spectrum from elements. Moseley
discovered a correlation between atomic
number
z

X-RAY
SPECTROSCOPY