The modern periodic table

• The modern periodic table arranges elements into a unique arrangement that can be used for reference.
• Metals are found on the left of the periodic table and non-metals on the right.
• The periodic table is arranged in rows called periods and columns called groups, which can be used to locate any element.

Play this game to learn about lots of different elements in the periodic table.

Watch this video to find out more information on the periodic table.

While you're watching, look out for where different elements are found in the periodic table.

In the modern periodic table:

• The elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number.
• The horizontal rows are called periods.
• The vertical columns are called groups.
• Elements in the same group are similar to each other.

Each square in the table contains an element symbol of one or two letters, not the element name. This makes it less cluttered and easier to find the elements.

• The element symbol always starts with a capital letter.
• Any letters that follow will be lower case letters, for example, helium is He.

Some element symbols are simple. For example, oxygen is O.Others aren’t as straightforward. For example, the element symbol for iron is Fe, from the latin word ferrum for iron.

On the periodic table, metals are found on the left and in the middle, and non-metals are on the right. A zig-zag line divides them.

In most periodic tables hydrogen (H) is shown separately but is still classified as a non-metal. Hydrogen is placed on its own as it is quite a unique element.

Did you know?

Hydrogen has lots in common with the metals in group 1, however, hydrogen is not a metal.

The periodic table can be read across from left to the right along the rows horizontally. It can also be read up and down the vertical columns.

• Rows of elements are called periods. They go across the whole periodic table from left to right, even if there is a gap. For example, the third period contains sodium (Na) to argon (Ar) elements.
• Columns of elements are called groups and are numbered. For example, group 4 contains carbon © elements through to flerovium (Fl).

Groups contain elements with similar chemical properties and physical properties. For example, the metals in group 1 are all reactive, whereas the elements in group 0 are all unreactive gases.

Periodic tables sometimes look different from each other. They can have different labels on the groups or numbers in the rectangles. However, the elements never move places.

The periodic table's layout means we can make predictions about elements based on their position on the periodic table. It is this structure that makes it very useful to scientists.

All element symbols start with a capital letter, but when a symbol has 2 letters in it the second letter is always lower case. For example, the element symbol of magnesium is Mg, not MG.

The periodic table arrangement allows us to look for patterns in elements' chemical and physical properties and predict how other elements in the same area might behave.

This is easiest to do in the groups of elements arranged in the vertical columns. Elements in a group have similar physical and chemical properties and show trends.

The table below shows the melting points of most elements in group 1. Melting points are a physical property of an element. The first Group 1 element, lithium, has the highest melting point at 180°C. The melting points then get gradually lower, with the element caesium four places down having a melting point of 28°C.

Did you know?

A hypothesis is a suggestion or prediction made on the basis of some evidence.

The melting points of the elements above francium can be used to make a hypothesis.

Find out more about using a hypothesis in science.

Are you a chemistry teacher looking for more resources for your class? Share this short film with your students, in which science presenter Jon Chase uses universal indicator to measure the pH of a solution.

BBC Teach has thousands of free, curriculum-linked resources to help deliver lessons - all arranged by subject and age group.