• Question: who made up the idea of the periodic table and how did they work out how many electrons, protons and neutrons are in each particle?

    Asked by jadeirelandkuyt to Davie, Gemma, James P, James V, Nuala on 27 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: James Verdon

      James Verdon answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Hi jadeirelandkuyt,
      The periodic table was invented by a Russian called Dimitri Mendeleyev. He realised that every element could be set out according to similar patterns and chemical behaviours that they had. These chemical behaviours are controlled by the number of electrons each element has. So the periodic table sets out elements in order of the number of electrons, and also protons, that they have.

      We can work out how many protons and electrons a particle has both from its chemical behavior – how it reacts is controlled by the number of electrons – as well as by weighing it using a machine called a mass spectrometer, which measures the mass of individual atoms. Obviously, the heavier an atom is, the more protons and neutrons it must have.

    • Photo: James Pope

      James Pope answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Hi jadeirelandkuyt,

      Great answer by James V, the trivia I can add is that in 1963, he was eventually honoured with an element names after him, called Mendelevium which is found at spot 101 on the Periodic Table!

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