I've posted about memorizing the periodic table of the elements before, but understanding is just as important.
You might think trying to understand the basics of the elements would be a chore, but it can actually be quite fun.
Surprisingly, one of the best introductions to the atom I've ever seen is not from a documentary, but an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati. In this episode, Venus is trying to help a friend whose son has dropped out of school. In the following scene, Venus explains the basics of the atom in an effort to help get the son to go back to school:
Earlier this week, NOVA aired a special called Hunting the Elements. The full special is about 2 hours long, and I recommend you make time to watch the entire thing.
There are two segments that give especially good explanations of the atom. The first excerpt discusses why the periodic table is arranged the way it is, and can be found at the 31:57 mark. The second excerpt immediately follows the previous one, and talks about the characteristics of the atom that gives each element gets its particular properties. It can be found 40 minutes into the special.
Click here to watch NOVA: Hunting the Elements
(If above link is unavailable, alternatives may be found here)
For more direct learning, NOVA has provided some wonderful teaching tools, such as their Name That Element Quiz. If you have an iPad, check out the NOVA Elements app (iTunes link). It not only includes the entire special, but also lets you play around with the elements by building atoms, putting them together in compounds, and much more!
There are two segments that give especially good explanations of the atom. The first excerpt discusses why the periodic table is arranged the way it is, and can be found at the 31:57 mark. The second excerpt immediately follows the previous one, and talks about the characteristics of the atom that gives each element gets its particular properties. It can be found 40 minutes into the special.
Click here to watch NOVA: Hunting the Elements
(If above link is unavailable, alternatives may be found here)
For more direct learning, NOVA has provided some wonderful teaching tools, such as their Name That Element Quiz. If you have an iPad, check out the NOVA Elements app (iTunes link). It not only includes the entire special, but also lets you play around with the elements by building atoms, putting them together in compounds, and much more!
Should you want to learn specific information about a given element, there's a great site called the Periodic Table of Videos. The periodic table on their homepage links to videos about the corresponding element. These videos are also available on their YouTube channel.
Of course, one of the things for which Grey Matters is known is teaching how to memorize just about anything. If you've been inspired to try and memorize the periodic table, check out my 2008 Elementary post. (Being 4 years old, some of the links are no longer available, but most of them are still functional.)
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