Is Memorizing the Periodic Table Necessary?

[jonegil]

has anyone ever memorized the periodic table?

 

[ice109]

mendeleev probably knew his from memory

 

[jtbell]

Anyone got a good mnemonic gimmick for all those rare-earth elements?

 

[Moonbear]

We had to memorize it when I was in junior high school. But, there were a lot less elements on it back then.

 

[G01]

I always considered the periodic table a kind of map. The point of having a map is so you DON'T need to memorize the globe!

 

[mrjeffy321]

I have not memorized the periodic table, but with time and experience one will naturally begin to remember the names/symbols/atomic weights of some of the most common elements. I have memorized a pretty good fraction of the periodic table…the elements I am always using.

I have heard from a friend that back when his dad was in college he had a test in which he was handed a blank periodic table and then asked to fill it in completely from memory…everything…including names/symbols/atomic number/atomic masses.
I really don’t see much educational value in that, but it is quite probably something which someone could do with enough practice (at least the names/symbols part I mean…the atomic weights is a different matter).

Back in high school chemistry we had to memorize the Alkali, Alkaline-Earth, Halogens, Nobel gasses, and few others elements and that was no big deal.

 

[pmb_phy]

has anyone ever memorized the periodic table?

My old physics professor has it memorized.

Pete

 

[ice109]

i think if you have it memorized it's easier to see the trends

 

[Cyrus]

What would be the point in memorizing such useless information? Thats the whole reason why its ordered in a table for you to look up.

 

[mrjeffy321]

Useless, I think not. I use the information on the periodic table everyday and it is not even my field of study.

I do think that there is some value in having portions of the periodic table memorized, just as one memorizes the multiplication tables, but I would not go so far as to advocate memorizing the entire table so that you could recreate it from scratch on a blank piece of paper.

 

[Cyrus]

Useless to memorize, I mean. You don't gain anything by memorizing a periodic table.

I hate the concept of memorization in general.

 

[Cyrus]

i think if you have it memorized it's easier to see the trends

The table is already structured to show trends in orbitals and chemical properties.

 

[cronxeh]

We had to memorize it when I was in junior high school. But, there were a lot less elements on it back then.

Dinosaur days?



zzzzing

hey are you going to reply to my pm?

 

[ice109]

The table is already structured to show trends in orbitals and chemical properties.

like I've said before. having as much knowledge ready on a whim is very important. it could mean the difference between making the connection between two seemingly disparate things and making a discovery and completely missing something.

 

[Astronuc]

has anyone ever memorized the periodic table?

It is not necessary since one can readily find it on-line or perhaps print one and put it on the wall. But with time, one can learn the groups, e.g. alkali, alkali earth, halides and noble gases.

http://www.webelements.com/

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

I have passively memorized atomic weights for some common elements in high school chem such as oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, iron, silver, blah the list goes on.

It definitely helps to a degree since you don't need to waste time looking everything up when you are doing calculations.

 

[Moonbear]

What would be the point in memorizing such useless information? Thats the whole reason why its ordered in a table for you to look up.

Spoken like a true engineer.

Dinosaur days?



zzzzing

hey are you going to reply to my pm?

We had already hunted all the dinosaurs for a huge dino roast by then.

Gaahh...I forgot about that PM. Send me a reminder in a few weeks...I don't have any time to reply right now (I shouldn't even be here, but I need some breaks from grant writing to keep my brain from leaking out my ears).

I don't think memorizing the periodic table had any more value than any of the other things we had to memorize in junior high...nobody expects you to retain all of that information, but the ones you use most often stick, and the rest is at least familiar so you can generally look in the right places without having to look at every single element in the table to hunt for the one you need information on. Once you've finished learning the names of all the elements and their abbreviations (needed to find them on the periodic table), it really wasn't that big of a deal to remember them in the order listed on the table, which then gives you the atomic number and information on mass, structure, reactivity.

Mostly, memorizing something like that serves as a time-saver if you need the information often, and that's about it.

 

[jonegil]

i had never seen that group..halides...it certainly corresponds to the "halogéneos" group in portuguese..(F,CL,Br,I and At) i guess.

 

[out of whack]

I remember trying to memorize it but I don't think I spent enough time in chemistry to know this particular table by heart. I suppose most chemists know it as well as you know your multiplication table, it has a comparable number of entries. It's just a question of needing the data or not: you memorize what you need on a regular basis.

 

[mrjeffy321]

i had never seen that group..halides...it certainly corresponds to the "halogéneos" group in portuguese..(F,CL,Br,I and At) i guess.

The second from the last column (group 17) is referred to as the ‘Halogens’.
When these elements form binary salts with other elements, those salts fit into the group sometimes called ‘Halides’….the “Hal” part coming from “Halogen” and the “ide” part coming from the naming convention of a 2 element ionic compound. For example, Sodium Chloride.

 

[jonegil]

oh...sorry about the previous blunder...i'm not used to "english chemestry"

 

[Astronuc]

Sorry about the use of 'halides'. Halogen would be the proper term in reference to that group in elemental form.

 

[Ki Man]

I think it would be useful to memorize symbols and atomic numbers but the rest you should just look up unless you really want to know it by heart

 

[fourier jr]

Useless, I think not. I use the information on the periodic table everyday and it is not even my field of study.

I do think that there is some value in having portions of the periodic table memorized, just as one memorizes the multiplication tables, but I would not go so far as to advocate memorizing the entire table so that you could recreate it from scratch on a blank piece of paper.

that's what i thought; if a physicist/chemist used a periodic table on a daily basis it wouldn't take long to memorize it, but the person probably wouldn't think of it as memorization. memorizing it just for fun sounds like a waste of time though.

oh...sorry about the previous blunder...i'm not used to "english chemestry"

chemestry... or chemystry... or alchymy

 

[jonegil]

chemistry...not chemystry nor chemestry...and alchymy for moors XD

 

[Vagrant]

We are supposed to memorize the entire periodic table because we don't get the table during exams in high school.

 

[jonegil]

really?...where are u from?

 

[Vagrant]

India. We memorize a lot of useless stuff like log values etc. as well.

 

[ice109]

India. We memorize a lot of useless stuff like log values etc. as well.

you guys don't have calculators that evaluates log?

 

[jonegil]

gee...

 

[chaoseverlasting]

you guys don't have calculators that evaluates log?

We arent allowed to use calculators. Not in high school, not for any tests, not in class, for anything really. I think college is going to be the same to some extent. Vedic/mental mathematics is encouraged (and required actually if you want to pass).

We usually memorize the S/P/D/F block elements with their positions and atomic weights. Radioactive disintegration series. As far as log is concerned, log 2, 3, 5, 7 are memorized, and the "times tables" till twenty.

 

[ice109]

We arent allowed to use calculators. Not in high school, not for any tests, not in class, for anything really. I think college is going to be the same to some extent. Vedic/mental mathematics is encouraged (and required actually if you want to pass).

We usually memorize the S/P/D/F block elements with their positions and atomic weights. Radioactive disintegration series. As far as log is concerned, log 2, 3, 5, 7 are memorized, and the "times tables" till twenty.

log_{10}(2,3,5,7)?? or log base 2 etc? if the the former why those specific 4. wow we only memorize multiplication to 12

 

[moose]

ice109, 2, 3, 5, and 7 are chosen because they are the first prime numbers.

 

[chaoseverlasting]

ice109, 2, 3, 5, and 7 are chosen because they are the first prime numbers.

Yeah. You can really simplify calculations and do them a lot faster if you know those log values. It really does make sense.

 

[ice109]

Yeah. You can really simplify calculations and do them a lot faster if you know those log values. It really does make sense.

im totally memorizing those

 

[moe darklight]

I accidentally memorized it in high school. Well, most of it. I don't remember it anymore though.
EDIT: about periodic table from op.

 

[Gokul43201]

What would be the point in memorizing such useless information? Thats the whole reason why its ordered in a table for you to look up.

If you want to have to do anything related to chemistry, it's extremely helpful to have a good picture of the PT stored in memory. Every time you come across some relationship between properties of two compounds, the likelihood of it setting off a lightbulb in your head is directly proportional to whether or not you've got the PT memorized. If you haven't memorized the PT, you will miss out on figuring out so many of the reasons why things are the way they are. And without the help of this explanatory logic, you have to take up additional memory space just to remember these facts without basis.

I memorize the PT because that way, I have to remember fewer things in chemistry.

 

[radou]

We are supposed to memorize the entire periodic table because we don't get the table during exams in high school.

Unfortunately, this is an example of something which one could call "How to get kids to hate school".

 

[SticksandStones]

I see no use in memorizing the PT, although I did have large sections of it memorized when I was in organic chemistry.

 

[Cyrus]

If you want to have to do anything related to chemistry, it's extremely helpful to have a good picture of the PT stored in memory. Every time you come across some relationship between properties of two compounds, the likelihood of it setting off a lightbulb in your head is directly proportional to whether or not you've got the PT memorized. If you haven't memorized the PT, you will miss out on figuring out so many of the reasons why things are the way they are. And without the help of this explanatory logic, you have to take up additional memory space just to remember these facts without basis.

I memorize the PT because that way, I have to remember fewer things in chemistry.

How does memorizing atomic weights, or atomic number, or atomic symbol help? How does that explain why things are the way they are? I would think spdf orbitals are the only things of real value, and those are already in order by the way the table is ordered. So you can look at the table and find the orbital instantly since you know how its arranged.


Long time no see, where have you been Gokul?

 

[chaoseverlasting]

If you want to have to do anything related to chemistry, it's extremely helpful to have a good picture of the PT stored in memory. Every time you come across some relationship between properties of two compounds, the likelihood of it setting off a lightbulb in your head is directly proportional to whether or not you've got the PT memorized. If you haven't memorized the PT, you will miss out on figuring out so many of the reasons why things are the way they are. And without the help of this explanatory logic, you have to take up additional memory space just to remember these facts without basis.

I memorize the PT because that way, I have to remember fewer things in chemistry.

Yeah. Thats totally true. Conversely, you may be faced with a totally new problem that you've never seen before, if you know the table, and can figure out where different elements are in with respect to each other, you could find a relation between them which could lead to a conclusion you can use.

If you don't know the answer before hand, and don't know the table, and hence can't find the relation, then you can't solve unknown problems. And that's the point of being a good engineer or student or studying science. You should be able to figure anything out based on a few fundamental principles, and if you cannot, either you aren't applying the principles correctly or there is something wrong with them.

 

[mrjeffy321]

How does memorizing atomic weights, or atomic number, or atomic symbol help? How does that explain why things are the way they are? I would think spdf orbitals are the only things of real value, and those are already in order by the way the table is ordered. So you can look at the table and find the orbital instantly since you know how its arranged.

Memorizing atomic numbers and symbols is useful, believe me, as is memorizing a few of the atomic weights of elements.

If one is doing calculations and has constantly refer back to the periodic table for every single bit of information then one is slowed down considerably.
It is much quicker to have the atomic number of Oxygen memorized (8) and know that its molar mass is 16.00 g/mol. There are several elements which are so common that you will naturally memorize their information; you don’t need to do this for all elements however...for example the molar mass of Bohrium (264 g/mol) doesn’t come up that often in my experience.

Also, having a mental picture of the periodic table is also useful so that one can think about the relationships between different elements, again without having to always constantly refer back to the periodic table.
Knowing that Sulfur is directly beneath Oxygen can come in handy...and also having a general picture of the placements of the elements makes finding one (if one should need to look up info) easier than having to methodically search the periodic table.

I barely use the spdf orbitals and do not care to memorize them.
If I should ever need to know that info, it is one of the things I would go the periodic table to look up.

 

[Lisa!]

Well I've not memorized that but I might do it in the future since it's really useful! Not to mention that how good it'd be for your memory.
You know I see people nagging about memoriszing things(especially things like PT) and they usually say that they have a very weak memory. But surprisingly I see these people who just know/memorize every single trivia about celebrities like weight, height, shoe size,...

 

[arunbg]

I memorised parts of the PT only becuse they didn't provide enough time in high school during exams, but they did provide us with log tables which i usually had to consult to make sure. Come to think of it, I think I memorised the important parts, naturally and not by wrought study. College is much better, calculators are allowed, and definitely no chemistry.

 

[Cyrus]

Memorizing atomic numbers and symbols is useful, believe me, as is memorizing a few of the atomic weights of elements.

If one is doing calculations and has constantly refer back to the periodic table for every single bit of information then one is slowed down considerably.
It is much quicker to have the atomic number of Oxygen memorized (8) and know that its molar mass is 16.00 g/mol. There are several elements which are so common that you will naturally memorize their information; you don’t need to do this for all elements however...for example the molar mass of Bohrium (264 g/mol) doesn’t come up that often in my experience.

But, isn't that what I was saying?

 

[mrjeffy321]

The impression I got from you is that there is no benefit, at all, from memorizing (even part of) the periodic table.
I am just saying that there defiantly is a value is having portions of the periodic table memorized (Names, Symbols, Numbers, Masses).

 

[Cyrus]

I HATE having to memorize ANYTHING. If its important to remember, you will remember it from using it from experience. (Which is exactly what you are describing). What the OP is describing, is memorizing the PT to take an exam, and that is worthless information (even though its the same information, because it has no purpose other than to take an exam).

That's why there is the saying "Either you use it or you lose it."

 

[chaoseverlasting]

I HATE having to memorize ANYTHING. If its important to remember, you will remember it from using it from experience. (Which is exactly what you are describing). What the OP is describing, is memorizing the PT to take an exam, and that is worthless information (even though its the same information, because it has no purpose other than to take an exam).

That's why there is the saying "Either you use it or you lose it."

Sometimes you have no choice. We aren't allowed charts with the table on them during exams. And with the number of questions you have to do during exams, its a lot easier to just memorize chunks of the table than to refer to it every minute. For the entrance exams I gave this year, for most exams, you have anything between 40 seconds to 1 minute. You have three hours for 240 or 180 questions divided equally among physics, chemistry and maths. Its just not possible to look charts up with that kind of time limit.