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2.13: Periodic Law

  • Page ID
    291308
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    A fruit vendor in Mysore selling many kinds of fruit.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Copy and Paste Caption here. (Credit: Christopher Fynn; Source: Flickr, Mysore - Fruit vendor(opens in new window) [www.flickr.com]; License: CC-BY 2.0)

    We have all enjoyed looking around a market for delicious foods to eat later at home. When you get to the market you know you need to get fruits, vegetables and grains to ensure you eat a balanced diet. In the market, these items are all grouped together to make it easier to find the type of fruit, vegetable or grain you are looking for; it would be inconvenient if the different fruits were all scattered in different places. The periodic table is organized in a similar way, ensuring similar elements are found in the same group or period.

    The Periodic Law

    When Mendeleev put his periodic table together, nobody knew about the existence of the nucleus. It was not until 1911 that Rutherford conducted his gold foil experiment that demonstrated the presence of the nucleus in the atom. Just two years later, in 1913, English physicist Henry Moseley (1887-1915) examined x-ray spectra of a number of chemical elements. He would shoot x-rays through crystals of the element and study the wavelengths of the radiation that he detected. Moseley found that there was a relationship between wavelength and atomic number. His results led to the definition of atomic number as the number of protons contained in the nucleus of each atom. He then realized that the elements of the periodic table should be arranged in order of increasing atomic number, rather than increasing atomic mass.

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    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) (Credit: User:Cepheus/Wikimedia Commons; Source: Commons Wikimedia, Periodic Table(opens in new window) [commons.wikimedia.org]; License: Public Domain)

    When ordered by atomic number, the discrepancies within Mendeleev's table disappeared. Tellurium has an atomic number of 52, while iodine has an atomic number of 53. So even though tellurium does indeed have a greater atomic mass than iodine, it is properly placed before iodine in the periodic table. Mendeleev and Moseley are credited with being most responsible for the modern periodic law: When elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number, there is a periodic repetition of their chemical and physical properties. The result is the periodic table as we know it today. Each new horizontal row of the periodic table corresponds to the beginning of a new period because a new principal energy level is being filled with electrons. Elements with similar chemical properties appear at regular intervals, within the vertical columns called groups.

    Summary

    • Elements of the periodic table are arranged in order of increasing atomic number.
    • The periodic law states: "When elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number, there is a periodic repetition of their chemical and physical properties."

    Review

    1. Did Mendeleev know about the nucleus of an atom?
    2. Who discovered the relationship between wavelength of X-rays and atomic number?
    3. What did Moseley conclude from his research?
    4. What is the “periodic law”?
    5. What do the vertical columns (groups) in the periodic table represent?

    2.13: Periodic Law is shared under a CC BY-NC license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.