periodic table
/ˌpɪɹiˈɑdɪk ˈteɪbəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.61 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
5
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A tabular chart of the chemical elements according to their atomic numbers so that elements with similar properties are in the same group (column).
Example Sentences
- "The atomic weight of krypton would accordingly be 81.62; the mean of former determinations is 81.28. This is in accordance with its position in the periodic table, which lies between bromine, 80, and rubidium, 85."
- "Silica and alumina are distinctly the most abundant and characteristic petrogenic constituents, and with them are most frequently associated those elements toward the extreme petrogenic end of the periodic table, especially potassium, sodium, and calcium in the order named; and these elements are associated with each other."
- "Gallium, the 32nd most abundant element in the earth's crust, is a silver-grey metal, widely distributed in trace amounts in many rocks and ores. Its name, gallium (Lat., gallia, France), honors the discovery of this element by a French chemist in 1875, just four years after [Dmitri] Mendeleev predicted its probable existence from a blank space in his newly described periodic table."
- "The main theme of TRL [Transuranium Research Laboratory] research with transuranium elements has been the exploration of a region of the periodic table that is relatively new and inaccessible to most scientists. […] Our research with the heavy elements has extended our knowledge considerably and tested our ideas concerning how the periodic table is constructed."
- "Taking into account the masses and percents of the isotopes, the average weight of a mercury atom is 200.59 amu, the atomic weight that is listed on some periodic tables. This type of average is called a weighted average. On other periodic tables, such as the one in this book, mercury's atomic weight is rounded to the nearest whole number (201 amu)."
- "The atomic masses you see in many periodic tables may vary slightly, so for consistency, we've rounded all atomic mass values to two decimal places before plugging them into equations."
Etymology
The table is termed “periodic” because it follows the periodic law – when chemical elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number, elements with similar properties recur at intervals.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌpɪɹiˈɑdɪk ˈteɪbəl/
- British English: /ˌpɪɹiˈɒdɪk ˈteɪb(ə)l/