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periodic table

periodic table

9 3.5
A chart that shows all chemical elements by their atomic number and groups similar ones together
  • noun
  • /ˌpɪəriˈɒdɪk ˈteɪbl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tabla periódica
  • But really the periodic table is pretty big.
  • periodic table of elements

Lithium, as some of you know, is on the periodic table of elements.

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Examples

  • In chemistry, everything sits somewhere on the periodic table so the constituent elements of any material can be determined.

  • Compounds of elements from groups III and V of the periodic table have many uses.

    Academic text (1997)
  • So we need to look at the periodic table and see where it is.

  • Starting with the entire periodic table, we come back to gold.

  • And James uses the periodic table of elements.

  • Name the first 10 elements of the periodic table.

  • Nearly every element on the periodic table is available in many forms.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Lithium, as some of you know, is on the periodic table of elements.

  • To get the rest of the periodic table, you need element factories.

    Academic text (2005)
  • The periodic table organizes all known chemical elements according to their atomic number.

Synonyms

table
vsperiodic table
  • Specialized
779 2.6

An organized set of information in rows and columns

is arranged specifically by atomic number grouping similar element properties
chart
vsperiodic table
420 1.3

A picture like a graph or table that shows information clearly

is a specific rows and columns layout ordered by atomic number

Surface Forms

Morphology

periodic + table

The components 'periodic' (recurring/regular) and 'table' (information in rows/columns) make it reasonably clear to a B1 learner that this is a table showing some regular or repeating pattern. However, the precise reference to chemical elements, ordering by atomic number, and the notion of periodicity in element properties require specific domain knowledge, so the full meaning is not immediately predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

The noun periodic table comes from a simple picture: a table where element properties are periodic, or repeat in regular 'periods'. In the 19th century, chemist Dmitri Mendeleev arranged elements so similar ones line up in rows and columns, so the chart shows this repeating order and we call it the periodic table today.