Nova: Hunting The Elements Periodic Table Worksheet Template printable pdf download

NAME:______________________________________

\DATE:____________________

NOVA: Hunting the Elements

There are _________ unique substances (elements) arranged on a chart that reveals their hidden secrets to anyone who knows

how to read it.

All the gold ever mined would fit into a single cube about _______ feet on a side.

Three-quarters of the elements are ________________.

How an atom reacts chemically depends on how willing it is to share _________________ with others.

How much would a 60 pound block of gold be worth in dollars?

$_________________________

List two things copper is used for:

When copper is combined with another element, __________, it makes bronze, the first manmade metal alloy.

The number of ________________ determines what kind of element the atom is.

The number of protons is called the atomic ________________ and it’s the fundamental organizing principle of every table

of the elements.

10. Most people think of _________________ as white and chalky, but it’s actually a silver, shiny metal.

11. Fiesta® ware bowls, like this one from the 1930s, gets its orange color from _________________ , and it’s actually

dangerously radioactive.

12. The table organizes the elements by atomic number, that is, the number of protons in each atom, yet the table’s creator – a

-centruy Russian chemistry professor, named Dmitri ___________________, knew nothing about protons or atomic

numbers.

13. The group that fits neatly onto the end of the table, the _____________ __________, are unwilling to mix with the other

elements, to react with them.

14. Protons may determine the identity of an element, but _________________ rule its reactivity.

15. An atom with _______ electrons in its outer shell makes one happy, satisfied atom.

16. The column just before the stable noble gases are called the _________________. They have an outer shell that needs just

one more electron to be full.

17. The ______________ metals are the first column. Each of them has full shells, plus one extra electron sitting in a new, outer

shell.

18. The ion chromatograph looks for positively or negatively charged molecules, called __________, in the residue, fragments of

the original chemical explosive.

Nova: Hunting The Elements Periodic Table Worksheet Template