Unit 02 - The Periodic Table of Elements

The periodic table of elements is a mainstay of chemistry study and material science. Nanotechnology also depends on the information contained in the periodic table of elements. A lot of people call it "the periodic table," but that implies this is the only one. It isn't. A calendar is a periodic table of time, for example, we just don't call it that.

Our goal in this unit is to get you to see the periodic table of elements for what it is: a powerful graphic organizer of multi-layered information, all contained on a single sheet of paper. That is some incredible design.

You will notice, however, that it has a ton of text. Shape and color can only get you so far with this stuff, so it is not surprising that text is also required to communicate key information. Despite this, there is little English text in a periodic table of elements. Mostly it reflects international names, symbols, and units, making it equally accessible to a variety of language groups.