What Scientific Term or Concept Ought to be More Widely Known? Understanding the Periodic Table and How it Affects Reactions By Freya Rosenstein ('20)
What Scientific Term or Concept Ought to be More Widely Known? Understanding the Periodic Table and how it affects reactions Although most people have heard of the Periodic Table, not many people (other than Packer’s 10th-12th grade students and science teachers), know how much the Periodic Table can tell you about elements and reactions. At first glance it seems that the most you can learn is an element's weight, name, and the number of protons in each nucleus. However if you know enough about the Periodic Table it can tell you a lot how certain elements will react and behave on their own and together.
One of the most basic observations about atoms are found in their periods and their groups. All elements within one period, the rows on the Periodic Table, have the same number of orbitals when in their ground state. Much more useful, especially when it comes to predicting behavior, are the groups on the Periodic Table, columns 1A-8A. These columns determine the number of electrons on the outer orbital, which in turn determines the most likely way that elements will react with one another. By nature, atoms will react to try and fill their outer orbital. This leads to them having different charges as they either lose or gain electrons when bonding. As the number of electrons change, atoms become charged, leading to bonds and reactions between different elements. Knowing these reactions are not just useful for chemistry teachers and students, you can apply your knowledge of the periodic table When falling into the rabbit hole of the internet I have stumbled upon many videos of amazing reactions between elements. Not only could you recreate these experiments (safely), but with your newfound knowledge of how reactions happen you could also have a better idea if the reactions are real or not. Knowing the products of certain reactions can also be life saving.
There are many gases and substances that can be harmful to human health, and although it may be rare, it is better to be overprepared. Being able to understand the likely reactions that will take place between two substances could help you insure that you don’t accidentally create an explosion or hazardous substance. You do not need to memorize the placement and names of the 118 elements already discovered, instead, maybe have a hardcopy of the Periodic Table lying around your house, or in your science folder in your backpack. We are also living in a time where after a quick google search you could have a copy on your phone and computer. Even though you could be done with Chemistry after 10th grade, try to keep the Periodic Table in the back of your mind when continuing on with life.
One of the most basic observations about atoms are found in their periods and their groups. All elements within one period, the rows on the Periodic Table, have the same number of orbitals when in their ground state. Much more useful, especially when it comes to predicting behavior, are the groups on the Periodic Table, columns 1A-8A. These columns determine the number of electrons on the outer orbital, which in turn determines the most likely way that elements will react with one another. By nature, atoms will react to try and fill their outer orbital. This leads to them having different charges as they either lose or gain electrons when bonding. As the number of electrons change, atoms become charged, leading to bonds and reactions between different elements. Knowing these reactions are not just useful for chemistry teachers and students, you can apply your knowledge of the periodic table When falling into the rabbit hole of the internet I have stumbled upon many videos of amazing reactions between elements. Not only could you recreate these experiments (safely), but with your newfound knowledge of how reactions happen you could also have a better idea if the reactions are real or not. Knowing the products of certain reactions can also be life saving.
There are many gases and substances that can be harmful to human health, and although it may be rare, it is better to be overprepared. Being able to understand the likely reactions that will take place between two substances could help you insure that you don’t accidentally create an explosion or hazardous substance. You do not need to memorize the placement and names of the 118 elements already discovered, instead, maybe have a hardcopy of the Periodic Table lying around your house, or in your science folder in your backpack. We are also living in a time where after a quick google search you could have a copy on your phone and computer. Even though you could be done with Chemistry after 10th grade, try to keep the Periodic Table in the back of your mind when continuing on with life.
