Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Memorize/recite the periodic table?

fusso - 25-10-2018 at 08:40

Does anyone actually memorize/recite the PT (elements' order) &/or elements' properties(mp, bp, density etc)?

[Edited on 181025 by fusso]

Texium - 25-10-2018 at 08:59

I came to realize a while ago that I had memorized it without trying to. I can draw it from memory. I have a lot of the most common atomic masses memorized to a few decimal places as well. Once again, not on purpose.

Tsjerk - 25-10-2018 at 09:05

I just remember the once I looked up often enough . I think that is good enough as I don't use the rest apperently.

Sulaiman - 25-10-2018 at 09:28

I can not draw a full table and I rarely refer to it
because the most useful information is too small to read :P
mainly oxidation states, b.p. etc.
I tend to research each unfamiliar element or compound involved in a planned experiment via Wikipedia, SM and a quick Google.
OTOH
Learning the table could make you seem smart and help in quizzes :P

Herr Haber - 25-10-2018 at 09:54

I know where to look on the periodic table for the element I'm interested in, got a few mp & bp in my head and maybe even some history about the discovery of the element.

That last part is mostly thanks to Merck's app (iOS).
Since I installed that app, I'll admit I make less efforts to remember.


DraconicAcid - 25-10-2018 at 10:06

If I had to, I could probably write out the entire table apart from the f-block and the ones past rutherfordium. But I rarely need to.

unionised - 25-10-2018 at 10:49

It used to ba a question set by our inorganic tutor at Uni. Fill in a blank copy of the periodic table.

I never got the hang of the actinides.

j_sum1 - 25-10-2018 at 15:05

I have memorised the whole thing in the past but the little-used sections are rusty.
Lanthanides are categorised into left, middle and right. Actinides above Pu are all out of order. I always mix up Mt and Ds.

I memorise vertical groups and associate with element properties as I learn them.

Ubya - 25-10-2018 at 15:30

learning the whole periodic table just to show off it's not that useful or important, by just doing chemistry you automatically memorize information about the elements you use the most,
for example after balancing equations for a while and doing stoichiometric calculations you will memorize most molecular masses without even trying

macckone - 25-10-2018 at 20:08

Both my freshman and sophomore years in high school I won academic competitions in chemistry and math. I had the periodic table and atomic weights memorized, not melting points and stuff like that. I also had densities of essential liquids memorized as well. During my junior and senior years I was ineligible because I attended a statewide residential magnet school.

clearly_not_atara - 25-10-2018 at 20:39

Quote: Originally posted by DraconicAcid  
If I had to, I could probably write out the entire table apart from the f-block and the ones past rutherfordium. But I rarely need to.


Same here. I can remember the actinides up to curium, the lanthanides not at all except lanthanum and cerium.

I remember the melting points of some metals approximately, but that's about it.

mayko - 25-10-2018 at 21:00

I can "recite" up to krypton, but I don't think about elements in terms of an ordered list.

There's an interesting study that was done on memory in chess players. They found that, when shown board arrangements taken from real life chess games, increased skill came with increased recall of the board. However, when shown randomized boards, recall was low all around and had no association with skill level.
https://psy.fsu.edu/faculty/ericssonk/ericsson.mem.exp.html



[Edited on 26-10-2018 by mayko]