The periodic table is a chart that has been designed to show the patterns of the chemical elements.
The periodic table is organized into rows and columns. This way it’s easier to compare different elements.
You can find many other things on the periodic table, but these are the most important things that you need to remember when reading it.
There are three types of elements on the periodic table: metals, nonmetals and metalloids.
The metals are characterized by having shiny luster, high electrical and thermal conductivity and ductility and malleability.
Metals react with other elements easily because they lose electrons or accept electrons into their crystal structure. You can find the metals on the left side of the chart.
Except for a few exceptions, nonmetals have a low electrical and thermal conductivity, do not have a luster and are not malleable or ductile.
They also have a high degree of strength because their outermost shells are filled with electrons. In this way they can more easily attract and hold other elements.
The nonmetal group would be on the top left on the pasteboard model of the chart. There is also a metalloid that has properties similar to both, metals and nonmetals.
You can find them between the metal and nonmetal areas. A good example of this kind of element is Boron.
To understand the table better it is recommended to have a model of it on your desk. This way you can look for patterns more easily.
You will also be able to compare elements based on their properties, physical state or atomic number instead of having to turn back and forth between pages each time that you want to understand something new.
The last thing that you need to know about the periodic table is that it has seven periods, which are called groups.
These are distinguished by the number of electrons that each element has. The first period would have one electron, the second two electrons and so on all the way until we reach period number seven that has eight electrons in its shell.
This is the last period because the maximum number of electrons that an atom can have in its shell is eight.
The second and third periods would each have two electrons, while the fourth period has four electrons and so on until we reach seven.
That’s why it’s called periodic, because elements follow a pattern that repeats itself over and over again.
So this is how to read the Periodic Table.