eriodic Classification of Elements
Today 118 elements are known to the scientific world.
Till1800 only about 30 elements were known.
In the initial classification elements were classified into the
groups of metals and nonmetals.
Later on another class of elements called metalloids was
noticed.
knowledge about elements and their properties went on
increasing.
different scientists started trying out different methods of
classification.
Dobereiner’s Triads (1817)
German scientist Dobereiner suggested that properties of
elements are related to their atomic masses.
He made groups of three elements each, having similar
chemical properties and called them triads.
He arranged the three elements in a triad in an
increasing order of atomic mass.
Ex. :- Lithium , sodium , potassium.
ELEMENT ATOMIC MASS NO.
Li 6.9
Na 23
K 39.1
The atomic mass of the middle element
was approximately
equal to the mean of
the atomic masses of the other two
elements.
Identify Dobereiner’s triads from the following groups of elements
having similar chemical properties.
1. Mg (24.3), Ca (40.1), Sr (87.6)
2. S (32.1), Se (79.0), Te (127.6)
3. Be (9.0), Mg (24.3), Ca (40.1)
wlands’ Law of Octaves
• In the year 1866 Newlands arranged the elements known at that time in an
increasing order of their atomic masses.
• It started with the lightest element hydrogen and ended up with
thorium.
• Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti
Do
He found that every eighth element had properties similar to those
of the first.
He found that every eighth element had properties similar
to those of the first.
• sodium is the eighth element from lithium and both have similar properties.
• Also, magnesium shows similarity to beryllium and
• chlorine shows similarity with fluorine.
Limitation Newlands’ octaves:-
1. This law was found to be applicable only upto calcium.
2. Newlands placed two elements each in some boxes to accommodate all the
known elements in the table.
For example:- Co and Ni, Ce and La.
Limitation Newlands’ octaves:-
3) He placed some elements with different properties under the same note in the
octave.
For example,
• Newlands placed the metals Co and Ni under the note ‘Do’ along with halogens.
• while Fe, having similarity with Co and Ni, away from them along with the
nonmetals O and S under the note ‘Ti’.
Limitation Newlands’ octaves:-
4) Newlands’ octaves did not have provision to accommodate the newly
discovered elements.
The properties of the new elements discovered later on did not fit in
the Newlands’ law of octaves.
Mendeleev’s Periodic table
Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1907) was a professor
in the St. Petersburg University.
Mendeleev considered the fundamental property of elements,
namely, the atomic mass, as standard.
Arranged 63 elements known at that time in an increasing
order of their atomic masses.
Then he transformed this into the periodic table of elements in accordance with
the physical and chemical properties of these elements.
These were the molecular formulae of hydrides and oxides of the elements,
melting points, boiling points and densities of the elements and their hydrides
and oxides.
Mendeleev found that the elements with similar physical and chemical
properties repeat after a definite interval.
On the basis of this finding Mendeleev stated the following periodic law.
Properties of elements
are periodic function of
their atomic masses.
vertical columns :- groups
horizontal rows :- periods
(The general molecular formulae of
compounds shown as
erits of Mendeleev’s periodic table
1. Atomic masses of some elements were revised :- For example, the previously determined atomic
mass of beryllium, 14.09, was changed to the correct value 9.4, and beryllium was placed before
boron.
2. vacant places for undiscovered element :- Mendeleev kept vacant places in the periodic table for
elements not discovered till then & their properties were also predicted.
(Mendeleev’s actual element Atomic mass no
Prediction)
eka-boron scandium (Sc), 44
eka-aluminium gallium (Ga) and 68
eka-silicon germanium (Ge) 72
The properties of these elements matched well with those predicted by Mendeleev.
3. zero group for nobel gases :-
There was no place reserved for noble gases in Mendeleev’s original periodic table. However, when
noble gases such as helium, neon and argon were discovered towards the end of nineteenth century,
Mendeleev created the ‘ zero’ group without disturbing the original periodic table in which the noble
gases were fitted very well.
merits of Mendeleev’s periodic table
Same whole number atomic mass number:- The whole number atomic mass of
the elements cobalt (Co) and nickel (Ni) is the same. Therefore there was an
ambiguity regarding their sequence in Mendeleev’s periodic table.
Position of Isotopes :- Isotopes were discovered long time after Mendeleev put
forth the periodic table. As isotopes have the same chemical properties but
different atomic masses, a challenge was posed in placing them in Mendeleev’s
periodic table.
Non uniform increment in atomic mass no :- When elements are arranged in an
increasing order of atomic masses, the rise in atomic mass does not appear to
be uniform. It was not possible, therefore, to predict how many elements could
be discovered between two heavy elements.
merits of Mendeleev’s periodic table
4. Position of hydrogen :- Hydrogen shows similarity with halogens (group VII). For example, the
molecular formula of hydrogen is H2 while the molecular formulae of fluorine and chlorine are F 2
and Cl2 , respectively.
In the same way, there is a similarity in the chemical properties of hydrogen and alkali metals
(groupI).
On considering the above propereties it can not be decided whether the correct position of
hydrogen is in the group of alkali metals (group I) or in the group of halogens (group VII).
