Question

How do you read the periodic table? I'm in ninth grade and working on my science class (I do my schoolwork online..) so I don't have a teacher to actually explain how to do it. The way they had it explained didn't make sense to me,\nSo I was wondering if anyone knew how to explain how to read the periodic table the simplest way?\nIt would...

Answer 1

I'm an 11th grader taking physical science so I'm currently learning this.

First you need to have your periodic table labeled.

My teacher made us do it with 3 different colors. 2 for non-metals and 1 for metals as the picture I have with this answer shows.

Next you have to know the different parts of an element on the periodic table.

The top left of an element is the atomic number.

The middle of an element is the chemical symbol, which is the abbreviation of the element

The next word you see near the bottom middle is the name of the element

And then the bottom of the element is the atomic mass.

Ex:

Hydrogen
1. Atomic Number : 1
2. Symbol : H
3. Name: Hydrogen
4. Atomic Mass : 1.007....

You read a periodic table like you read a book, left to right.

If there's anything in particular you need to know about the periodic table, let me know