Chem lab
EXPERIMENT 4B: THE MENDELEEV LAB OF 1869
Materials: 30 element cards, periodic table
Aim: How can we identify elements based on their propeties?
Background: Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev is generally credited as being the first chemist to observe patterns emerge when the elements are arranged according to their properties. Mendeleev’s arrangement of the elements was unique because he left blank spaces for elements that he claimed were undiscovered as of 1869. Mendeleev was so confident that he even predicted the properties of these undiscovered elements. His predictions proved to be quite accurate when these new elements were discovered and characterized. Today, we are sending you back to 1869 to see if you can recreate a periodic table as Mendeleev originally did by grouping together elements with similar properties and looking for trends within each group. If you are successful, you will be able to identify the unknown elements.
Part A: Examining properties and trends. You will separate the elements into piles based on different properties. DO NOT put the cards back together until the end of Part A. You will have many piles by the end.
1. Sort the cards into 3 piles, one for solids, liquids and gases.
Describe the patterns and trends that you see. [10 pts]
There is more solid than all others. There is only 1 liquid and only a few gases.
2. Do not put the piles back together. Choose a second property to further sort each pile into.
Property Color
Describe the patterns and trends that you see. Are there any relationships between physical state and the property you chose? [10 pts]
There are more silvery white and silver solids compared to all the other colors. Most solids are silver and most gases are colorless. 3. Again, do not put the piles back together. Choose a third property to further sort each pile into.
Property Conductivity
Describe the patterns and trends that you see. Are there
Materials: 30 element cards, periodic table
Aim: How can we identify elements based on their propeties?
Background: Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev is generally credited as being the first chemist to observe patterns emerge when the elements are arranged according to their properties. Mendeleev’s arrangement of the elements was unique because he left blank spaces for elements that he claimed were undiscovered as of 1869. Mendeleev was so confident that he even predicted the properties of these undiscovered elements. His predictions proved to be quite accurate when these new elements were discovered and characterized. Today, we are sending you back to 1869 to see if you can recreate a periodic table as Mendeleev originally did by grouping together elements with similar properties and looking for trends within each group. If you are successful, you will be able to identify the unknown elements.
Part A: Examining properties and trends. You will separate the elements into piles based on different properties. DO NOT put the cards back together until the end of Part A. You will have many piles by the end.
1. Sort the cards into 3 piles, one for solids, liquids and gases.
Describe the patterns and trends that you see. [10 pts]
There is more solid than all others. There is only 1 liquid and only a few gases.
2. Do not put the piles back together. Choose a second property to further sort each pile into.
Property Color
Describe the patterns and trends that you see. Are there any relationships between physical state and the property you chose? [10 pts]
There are more silvery white and silver solids compared to all the other colors. Most solids are silver and most gases are colorless. 3. Again, do not put the piles back together. Choose a third property to further sort each pile into.
Property Conductivity
Describe the patterns and trends that you see. Are there