How To Learn a Periodic Table? Simple Step To Learn Periodic Table

IIT JEE Preparation Published on 17 March 2023

The periodic table is one of the most important topics in chemistry. Each year around 3-4 questions are asked about the periodic table in this paper. Hence, it is essential that students learn this topic thoroughly. However, studying the periodic table is not as easy as you might think. Many students tend to forget the elements and blocks which are included in the periodic table. You must understand that without a good understanding and knowledge of this topic, one cannot fully succeed in their chemistry paper. So, in this article, we will enlist some of the simple ways to learn period tables so that they can get a hold of this topic easily.

Before proceeding further, you must know what is a periodic table along with its elements and blocks in detail.

What is a Periodic Table?

A periodic table is an arrangement of all the chemical elements based on their chemical properties and atomic numbers. This arrangement is made based on rows and columns wherein each row represents a period and each column a group. The periodic table is also arranged based on their increasing atomic numbers from left to right and top to bottom.

Elements in a similar group will have similar valence electron configuration thereby having the same chemical properties. Whereas, elements in a similar period will have an increasing order of valence electrons.

The periodic table consists of 118 elements and four main groups namely

S-Block Elements
P-Block Elements
D-Block Elements
F-Block Elements

Dimitri Mendeleev was called the father of the periodic table as he was able to predict a majority of the elements and their properties which was earlier half known in chemistry. Hence, the periodic table is also known as Mendeleev’s Periodic table (after Dimitri Mendeleev). The contribution of Mendeleev was notable in the field of chemistry after his discovery of elements and their properties in the periodic table. Hence, later in 1869, Mendeleev’s periodic table was published in the German journal of chemistry.

Types of Elements in Periodic Table

As discussed above, there are 118 types of elements in the periodic table. Take a look at the detailed table below to know the names of all the elements along with their blocks and group numbers.

Name of the Elements	Blocks	Groups
Hydrogen, Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium, Cesium, Francium, Beryllium, Magnesium, Calcium, Strontium, Barium, Radium	s-Block	Group 1 & 2
Boron, Aluminium, Gallium, Indium, Thallium, Carbon, Silicon, Germanium, Tin, Lead, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Arsenic, Antimony, Bismuth, Oxygen, Sulphur, Selenium, Tellurium, Polonium, Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine, Astatine, Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon, Radon	p-Block	Group 13 to 18
Scandium, Titanium, Vanadium, Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, Zinc, Scandium, Titanium, Vanadium, Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, Zinc, Lutetium, Hafnium, Tantalum, Tungsten, Rhenium, Osmium, Iridium, Platinum, Gold, Mercury, Actinium, Rutherfordium, Dubnium, Seaborgium, Bohrium, Hassium, Meitnerium, Darmstadtium	d-Block	Group 3 to 12
Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium,, Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, Lutetium, Thorium, Protactinium, Uranium, Neptunium, Plutonium, Americium, Curium, Berkelium, Fermium, Mendelevium, Nobelium, Lawrencium	f-Block	There is no particular group number for these elements. They are divided into two main categories i.e. Lanthanides and Actinides.

Note that out of the 118 periodic elements, only 94 of them are found in their natural form whereas the rest are man-made.

Types of Blocks in Periodic Table

As discussed above, there are four types of blocks in the periodic table i.e. s,p,d and f. Take a look at the properties of each block below.

S-Block

The s-block consists of two groups i.e. Group 1 and Group 2. Here, Group 1 elements are alkali metals whereas group 2 elements are alkaline earth metals. These elements are electropositive and chemically active in nature. Moreover, they are soft and have low melting points.

P-Block

The p-Block elements start from group 13 and end at group 18 excluding helium. These elements have the ability to form covalent bonds and also they can interact with other elements by sharing, gaining and losing their valence electrons.

D-Block

The d-block elements consist of groups 3 to 12. These elements generally have high melting and boiling points. They have valence electrons in their shells and two outermost. Also, they are known as transition metals.

F-Block

f-Block elements consist of lanthanides and actinides and they are also known as inner transition elements. These elements generally have a high melting point, variable oxidation states, and the ability to form colored salts.

Having known all the types of elements and blocks in the periodic table, it’s time to know how to learn the periodic table effectively.

Simple Ways to Learn a Periodic Table

It’s tough to learn and memorize all the 118 elements in the periodic table however with a proper approach and technique, you can surely ace this topic. There are three ways in which you can learn a periodic table as follows

Making FlashCards
Creating a Song
Using the Mnemonics Technique

Let us take a look at each of these ways one by one below

Making FlashCards

Making flashcards are a great way to memorize the elements. It is a highly engaging and interactive way of learning as with the help of flashcards, you can easily study and repeat the concepts more efficiently. Flashcards are handy as you can carry them with you whenever you go out and revise the elements while traveling or simply while doing your daily chores.

The best way to learn via flashcards is to make groups of flashcards and divide them based on the blocks and their respective elements. Readout each element loudly and only refer to the flashcards if you are stuck somewhere in between your learning. The best part about this learning method is that you can learn at your own convenience and pace using these flashcards. We suggest that you keep them handy as you can quickly go through them in between your day-to-day activities.

Creating Songs

Creating songs might sound silly but it can be highly effective if used properly. It is one of the simple ways to learn the periodic table as you can engage in your learning. We usually sing the song which we like the most and it often gets stuck in our heads. Similarly, you can create an interesting song based on the elements and sing it to remember the elements more effectively.

Use the Mnemonic Technique

The mnemonic technique is one of the best ways to learn a periodic table. Using this, you can make a phrase and then remember the starting letters of the words used in this phrase. It gives you clarity of the elements by helping you remember the first letter of each word used in the phrase.

For example, Happy Heena likes Berries

H- Hydrogen

He- Helium

Li- Lithium

Be- Beryllium

Let us take a look at the Hindi Mnemonics for remembering all the elements in a periodic table.

Groups/Periods	Hindi Mnemonics	Elements
Group 1	HaLiNa K Rb Csey Fryad	H, Li, Na, K, Ru, Cs, Fr
Group 2	Beta Mange Car Scoter Bap Razi	Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Br, Ra
Group 13	Began, Aaloo, Gajar In Thela	B, Al, Ga, In, Ti
Group 14	Chemistry Sir Gives Sanki Problems	C Si Ge Sn Pb
Group 15	Nana Patekar Aishwariya SaB Bimar	Ni P As Sb Bi
Group 16	Oye Sun Saxena Teri Pol Kholu	O S Se Te Po
Group 17	Faltu Class mein Boring Instructor Aata hai	F Cl Br I At
Group 18	He Never Argue; Kal Xero Run pe out hua	He Ne Ar Kr Xe Rn
Period 4	Science Ti(ea)cher Vineeta Criplani Man Fenko (FeCo) Ni Kyun (Cu) Zaan hai?	Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn
Period 5	Ye Zara Nawaab Maut Tak Rooh Rahegi Padhaai Aage Chhodo	Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd
Period 6	La HafTa Warna Re Us (Os) Iron rod se Pitega Aur Hospital JAeega	Lu Hf Tu W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg
Period 7	Akkountant R D Sharma ki Book Mein Hain Maths ke Darawane Sawaal	Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds
Lanthanides 1	John Cena Parson New Delhi main Prime minister Se Mila	Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm
Lanthanides 3	Engineer Tum Yebhi Luto	Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho
Actinides 1	Thode Papa Unse Napenge.	Th Pa U Np
Actinides 2	Purana Aam K(C)am Bikenge.	Pu Am Cm Bk
Actinides 3	Final Mood No Larai	Fm Md No Lr

This is a sample table that will give you an idea about how to make your own interesting and funny phrases while using the first letter to remember the names of the elements. Similar to this, you can also make the phrases in English and memorize the elements.

Conclusion

To conclude, we have mentioned the complete details related to the periodic table above. You can get an idea and know-how to learn a periodic table using various methods and techniques. We hope you can benefit from these techniques and remember your elements better so that you can excel in this topic in no time. Good luck!