I don’t know about you but I remember as a high schooler and having to memorize the periodic table for Science Class and now Charlie is having to learn it for his Homeschool Science Class. Joy be we both say. Today is the perfect day to test Charlie on what he knows because February 7th is National Periodic Table Day which can be shared on Social Media using #periodictableday
It’s funny to find out that since 2016, National Periodic Table Day has been celebrated on February 7 to pay tribute to the chart pasted in science classrooms which I didn’t know about even though it saved us from flunking high school Science Class! National Periodic Table Day is a day dedicated to toast the periodic table and its scientific inventions.
Which was conceived in the clever mind of a chemistry teacher, Mr. David T. Steineker. I bet you he had ulterior motives behind National Periodic Table Day. Today we celebrate and glorify the periodic table and its scientists in being the critical building elements for the continuing discoveries in science. Don’t forget to check out the scholarships in different areas of science and discover your potential in the field.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL PERIODIC TABLE DAY
If it wasn’t for the periodic table, we wouldn’t have passed our chemistry exams as easily as we did. Come to think of it, if it wasn’t for the periodic chart, we wouldn’t have found chemistry so tough in the first place. By the same token, we cannot forget the breakthroughs and advancements that the periodic table has brought to the field of chemistry.
On February 7th, 2016, an author, inventor, and chemistry teacher at Jefferson County Public School in Kentucky, Mr. David T. Steineker, founded the National Periodic Table Day to toast the publishing of scientist John Newlands’ periodic table of elements on February 7, 1863. Russian chemist and scientist, who is best remembered for formulating the present-day periodic table in 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev, was also born a day before February 7. Mr. Steineker came up with the idea to give it a day to remember and challenge the discoveries of the periodic table of elements for which more than one scientist has been credited for its inception since the 19th century.
It is unethical to not recognize the first groundwork of the periodic table that was laid out by German chemist Johann Dobereiner back in 1817. Together with J.J. Berzelius, the Swedish chemist, Doberiener discovered the first catalyst by experimenting with hydrogen ignition and potassium powder. He organized elements with similar properties into groups of three, which formed the basis for modifications by other scientists.
Finally we come to John Newlands who was an English chemist who published the first periodic table in 1863, which organized 56 elements into 11 groups. While Newlands’ periodic table was slightly flawed, he was the first scientist to introduce the ‘Law of Octaves.’ National Periodic Table Day, thus, honors the scientists who created a model that gives us an easy reference and helps chemists anticipate the behavior of elements within a glance.
NATIONAL PERIODIC TABLE DAY ACTIVITIES
- Today is the perfect day to read up about the periodic table and play a trivia challenge with friends.. Ask facts and figures about the elements making up the rust compound, the symbol for potassium, or perhaps the atomic number of argon.
- Now, I have a task for you grab a pen and paper, gather your family, and put a periodic table chart in the middle. Come up with proper English language words out of the symbols of elements and write them down. The one who ends up with the most points wins the game. For scoring use the atomic numbers of each element! For example, the word ‘CaSe’ uses elements only and tops up 54 points to your name.
- Did you know you can even study the periodic table in music class today and sing the periodic table song which you should be able to find on YouTube.
FACTS ABOUT THE PERIODIC TABLE THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND
- The periodic table has all the letters of the alphabet except the letter J.
- Elements are named after various things like Uranium which was named after the discovery of Uranus, whereas argon is taken from the Greek word ‘argos’ meaning ‘idle.’
- Carbon is considered the king because it can form four covalent bonds with other elements and with itself.
WHY PEOPE LOVE NATIONAL PERIODIC TABLE DAY
- The periodic table is easily “chemistry’s most important breakthrough.” From providing a molecular understanding of elements that make up the matter to engineering biomaterials and other complex applications, we owe it all to the periodic table.
- Chemical synthesis of Taxol compound treats cancer found in Pacific yew trees. It has a therapeutic effect on cancer, which is why chemists have found a semisynthetic version of Taxol widely used today to treat cancer.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
