7th Period Group #2: The Disappearing Spoon Book Discussion (Part 5: Question #2) by Michaela Spence

Question #2: Using text evidence, how did scientists contribute to the current understanding and use of the periodic table we use today?

spencejm — 2024-01-18 18:36:16 UTC

Jenna

baileyjr1 — 2024-01-18 20:00:56 UTC

On page 204 it states "To explain this, we have to explore what nuclear physicists call "the island of stability"which is their best and perhaps only hope of extending the table beyond it's current size." this means that the discovery of new elements is nearly impossible unless using this one method.

Page 185

falknermc — 2024-01-18 20:02:27 UTC

"Albert Einstein uncovered a new state of matter while fiddling around with a few quantum mechanics equations in 1924 - then dismissed his calculations and his theoretical discovery as too weird to ever exist until someone actually made it in 1995." This quote answers the question by telling us that Albert Einstein uncovered a new state of matter that came along with many new elements. Without Albert Einstein scientists in the next generation might have never thought to look for a new state of matter and other scientists would never have been able to discover those new elements without Einstein.

2024-01-18 20:04:45 UTC

Pg 187 "Rutherford let a sample of radioactive metal decay in a closed container then drew bubbles of the gas in an inverted flask." Rutherford also moved from New Zealand to the Univesity of Cambridge in 1895 and he devoted himself to radioactivity. Rutherford soon realized that he had found a new element known as Radon and I think this is super cool because he found a new element by using a chemical reaction and used bubbles in the process which makes this wonder what else could we do with bubbles

Andrew initial post

tyndallag — 2024-01-18 20:06:28 UTC

Rutherford made a huge contribution to the periodic table, by earning his name on it! On page 188 it talks about how Rutherford discovered alpha and beta cells. The author even says, "Rutherford basically proved that alpha particles were escaped helium atoms with an early "neon" light." This huge accomplishment got the attention of the whole scientific community. So, in answer to the question, Rutherford contributed to the table by not only making a huge discovery, but also getting recognized and having a element (#104) named after him which literally changed every table in the world.

Page 186

mcfarlandac — 2024-01-18 20:09:55 UTC

"Rutherford moved from New Zealand to the University of Cambridge in 1895, and he devoted himself to radioactivity." Because Rutherford, like many others, devoted themselves to just one category of the periodic table we now know a lot more about that one category. Because we know a lot about each category, that can help us understand each of the new elements and categorize them. This helps state that scientists from the past had a big part in contributing to the current understanding and use of the periodic table today.

grangermj — 2024-01-18 20:10:03 UTC

On page 187 it states "Rutherford built on the work of Marie Curie" This shows how scientists contributed because there were so many that researched the periodic table that scientists could build on their research later and discover more than they could have with their own reasearch.

drewle — 2024-01-18 20:12:04 UTC

"No one thought to give the transition metals a little more space until Glenn Seaborg and his colleagues made over the entire periodic table between the late 1930s and early 1960s" (209). This shows how they contributed to the periodic table by reshaping it and creating a standard which is how we visualize, understand, and think about the periodic table.

Taylor Britton Bowden

bowdentb0 — 2024-01-18 20:19:04 UTC

On page 209 it states, “No one thought to give the transition metals a little more space until Glen Seaborg and his colleagues made over the entire periodic table between the late 1930’s and early 1960’s. It wasn’t just that they added elements. They also realized that elements like actinium (element 89) didn’t fit into the scheme that they’d grown up with.” Glen Seaborg has helped the periodic table in so many ways. Especially making it all fit together. But there was one element that didn’t really fit. That was actinium. Once he figured that out he had to act! This is when he and his colleagues added a key part to the periodic table. ACTINIDES These were the heaviest elements known at the time, and transformed the Periodic table into more of a castle.

CoCo Cahoon

cococahoon — 2024-01-18 20:21:00 UTC

On page 200 Sam Kean states "Scientist loved Fermi...he is the namesake of element 100". This shows how scientists have contributed to our understanding of the table. I believe this because the when naming the element the scientist must have thought very thoroughly about the name because Fermi had done such an incredible job at making chemical equations from scratch, because of Fermi we have such a better understanding of Magnesium.

ferrellab0 — 2024-01-18 20:23:53 UTC

Page 187 says, "Rutherford and his lab partner, Frederick Soddy, quickly proved the radioactive bubbles were in fact a new element, Radon." This shows how these two scientists found a new element and how they helped shape the periodic table into what it is today. There could also be questions or discoveries that scientists could make using Radon and if those scientists did not discover it then we wouldn't be able to make those discoveries

MICHAEL HEATH

heathmg — 2024-01-18 20:26:56 UTC

page 187 "as the radon sample grew in volume, they realized that one element actually changed into another" this quote shows Rutherford and Soddy discovering a new element and transmutation