Mammoth Memory

The history of the periodic table

In the 19th century a British chemist called Newlands (News lands) created a table of all the known chemical elements.

British chemist Newlands compiled a table with all the elements present

Newlands decided to arrange elephants (elements) on his table in order of their mass, but he left no gaps between each one for new elephants that had not yet been discovered.

Newlands decided to order the elements in order of mass but left no gaps for elements not yet discovered

As a result, Newlands’ table grouped elephants (elements) with different houses (properties) together.

Newland grouped elements with properties of them together

Because there weren’t any gaps and elephants (elements) with different houses (properties) had been put next to each other, when the idea was presented, it was rejected by other scientists and the table was broken.

The table was broken 

By mending and leaving (Mendeleev) gaps in the table, a Russian chemist called Mendeleev was able to keep elephants (elements) with similar houses (properties) together on the table. 

A Russian chemist Mendeleev rearranged the elements into houses with similar properties and gaps were created between elements

The alterations Mendeleev had made to the table meant that it was met with approval by other scientists. 

Mendeleev's rearrangement was approved by other scientists

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