Why you should teach the history of the periodic table

By Peter Banks2019-10-24T14:22:00

An image showing periodic table building blocks

Source: © iStock/Getty Images

Because students familiar with the table’s development and structure make better chemists

While memorising the periodic table is unhelpful, understanding the table’s structure is one of the most important concepts students can learn. Weaving the human stories behind the periodic table into our teaching can help students’ develop their familiarity, and this article contains approaches to do this for 11–14 students.

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