Memorizing the Periodic Table of Elements

[PrincessKsMom]

Anybody have any tips or tricks to memorizing this? DD's teacher just told them today they need to memorize the first 50 elements by next Friday -- Element, Abbreviation and Atomic Number. Thanks!

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

I am an adult college student with a degree in chemistry and I am into Biomedical also. I have never been told to memorize the table! althou after using many of the metals, metalloids, Halogens etc. you get to know the numbers and the abbreviations. There are tricks to learning different numbers and atomic weights. I would suggest getting the book Chemistry for dummies.

Let me find a table, and if I can I will post my tricks....

 

[Bluestars]

Wow. That would be tough.

I have heard of the element song. Maybe that would help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFIvXVMbII0

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Thank you both.

Unfortunately, the song won't help because the teacher wants them to memorize 1-50, in order. The song would mean memorizing the entire table, then having to memorize which are the first 50.

I'm thinking there just won't be an easy way to do this. We might have to make up our own mneumonic.

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

what I would do is first go for the most important, or used elements, starting with H which would be 1.00. They all go in an order. so work on your left side first, the first two rows with your H, Li, Na, K, Rb,Ca, and Fr.second row your Alkaline earth metals Be, Mg, ca,Sr,Ba,Ra. then head over to your transition metals...B, Al
and so from the B To the right side doing the metalloids and halogens which is your far right side of He, Ne,Ar,Kr,Xe,and radon Rn. if she works on those. two rows left side and then the last eight on right side, the numbers go in order, so it is not to hard to remember. just make blank charts and have her fill them in.

 

[Bluestars]

I agree that there probably is no easy way to do it. Ugh. Good luck to your daughter.

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

oh, the other thing I have done is to use a dry board and just keep looking at the table and writing it, that is the only true blue way to get use to it. I think if she just keeps writing it, it will take no time. took me two days.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This may sound silly, but since it is "only" 50, it kind of is no different than memorizing the 50 states (sort of!).

Make many copies of a blank table---

And after she studies, then she tests herself to fill in what she can remember.

Name, abbrevation and "capital" aka atomic number.


Good luck!

(she may also make flashcards of the elements to memorize the abbreviation and atomic number as a separate activity to study when she isn't working with the table.)

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I remember having to memorize the abbreviations for all of the elements and remember some tricks for that but I didn't have to learn all of that so I can't help...sorry.

 

[Cinderella94]

I had to memorize the first 30 or so last year for my Honors Chem class. My friends and I did it by making mnemonics.

 

[trip]

I had to do that for my high school chemistry class. It seems like we were told at the beginning of the year that it had to be memorized by the end of the semester. There is no fast way - she will just have to put in the time. At least everyone in her class is in the same boat.

Maybe this will help. http://chemistry.about.com/od/elements/a/memorizeelement.htm

Good luck to her.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I memorized the periodic table in columns because the elements are arranged according to the properties of each individual atom, and this format made it easier to visualize arrangements and work with them in equations when I got further along in Chemistry. I can't take credit for the strategy though, it belonged to my teacher... I just happen to think she was 100% right.

Good luck, it's not all that hard if you break it down into small portions. Like everything, it's only overwhelming if you try to do too much at once.

 

[Imzadi]

I am an adult college student with a degree in chemistry and I am into Biomedical also. I have never been told to memorize the table! althou after using many of the metals, metalloids, Halogens etc. you get to know the numbers and the abbreviations.

I agree. I had to take the NYS Regents exams and we were allowed to use a preprinted table. I never had to memorize them all.

Make many copies of a blank table---

And after she studies, then she tests herself to fill in what she can remember.

I think this would be the easiest too. Memorize them the way they are set up. Have her say the name and fill in & each box over and over until she can do it without looking.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Both of mine had to do this, we used the flash card method, over, and over, and over, and over again. Good Luck.

 

[DVCLiz]

My older daughter had to memorize the first two rows in the 8th grade. She and her best friend made up lyrics to the Britney Spears song "I'm not a Girl." I can still hear "hy - eye - dro - gen - (one)".

 

[eduk8r26]

When I was in high school--back in the Dark Ages--we had to lmemorize the table. We kept taking the test till we passed it. Maybe that's why I hated chemistry!!

 

[Handbag Lady]

Can you get a copy of the table, print it out, then white-out everything, then make hundreds of copies.

Then, fill out each one (up to the first 50) with all of the info in it?

I had to do the same with the Greek and Roman Gods, and we had to do the first major 15 for each and we had to know their name, what they were God of, and the major relative/kin/spouse. I just wrote them over and over and over until I had them all down pat.

 

[KristaTX]

Dang. I'm sure that she can do it, but it sounds like kind of a silly assignment considering that it's a table for a reason. Now memorizing the abbreviations of them all? I'm all for that. I can still remember what Sn, Pb, Au, Ag, Fe, Na, and many of the other common elements are. Knowing those has actually been helpful on occasion in my nursing career, and also just for trivia purposes. But the atomic number is something else.

Thank goodness she doesn't have to memorize the molecular weight .

 

[OceanAnnie]

Whenever anything has to be memorized in our house, I put whatever it is on an index card, punch a hole in the corner, and put it on a ring. We carry it everywhere and I quiz the kids with it all the time. It helps a lot.

Maybe it could help your DD.

 

[dis-happy]

As a homeschooler I try to use as many ways as possible when my kids are memorizing: write it, say it and listen to it. You might try using some color patterns in the boxes too, to help visualize what should go where. Good luck!