The Periodic Table

1. The Periodic Table

2. Dmitri Mendeleev was born in Siberia (Russia) in 1834. He had 13 (maybe 17) older brothers and sisters. His father went blind when he was young, and his mother started a glass factory to help make ends meet.

3. As Dmitri was completing high school . . . his father died, and the glass factory burned down.

4. All her other children were grown, so Mrs. Mendeleev took Dmitri to St. Petersburg and worked to get him through college.

5. 10 Ne neon Atomic Wt. In 1860, when he was 26, Dmitri began working on a first edition chemistry text book. He organized material for his book on note cards. For each known element, Dmitri wrote the atomic mass on each card and some properties.

6. 1 H hydrogen Atomic Wt. 2 He helium Atomic Wt. 3 Li lithium Atomic Wt. 4 Be beryllium Atomic Wt. 5 B boron Atomic Wt. 6 C carbon Atomic Wt. 7 N nitrogen Atomic Wt. 8 O oxygen Atomic Wt. 9 F fluorine Atomic Wt. 10 Ne neon Atomic Wt. 11 Na sodium Atomic Wt. 12 Mg magnesium Atomic Wt. 13 Al aluminum Atomic Wt. Dmitri had a file of note cards, one card for each of the 63 known elements.

7. Dmitri noticed patterns and trends among the elements. He ordered elements according to increasing atomic masses. He placed the elements into a table called the periodic table of the elements, his greatest achievement.

8. The Periodic Table of the Elements He left spaces in his table where he predicted unknown elements would eventually be placed.

9. Ga Ge Sc Mendeleev was correct. Three of these elements were discovered during his lifetime.

10. All pictures of Dmitri Mendeleev show him with long, straggly hair. He got a haircut once a year, whether he needed it or not.

11. Bibliography Kotz, John C. and Purcell, Keith F. (1991). Chemistry and chemical reactivity. Ft. Worth, Texas: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. Mendeleev, Dmitri I. http://www.wnet.org/hawking/cosmostar/html/cstars_mendel.html