Objects of Substance- Periodic Table

divided and is composed of four elements – earth, air, fire, water; to Sir Francis Bacon who argued that natural phenomena could only be properly understood by developing hypotheses and performing experiments. This scientific approach inspired much experimental work throughout Europe which led to English scientist, John Dalton, publishing his atomic theory in 1803. Dalton proposed that matter consisted of tiny particles that he, too, believed to be the smallest unit of matter. To honour Leucippus and Democritus, he called these particles atoms. Dalton believed that all atoms of the one element were identical and that whole-number combinations of atoms formed compounds. Together, elements and compounds made up all matter. The story of the periodic table complements the discovery of elements and is, like all science, the result of contributions from many esteemed scientists who studied the elements and their properties. The first attempts to organise the elements were made by French geologist, Alexandre Émile Béguyer de Chancourtois (1862, 66 elements), and German chemist, Lothar Meyer (1864, 28 elements). However, it was Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev's periodic table, published in 1869, that became most recognized. Mendeleev arranged the elements in the increasing order of their atomic masses in horizontal rows till he came across an element whose properties were similar to those of the first element. Then he placed this element below the first element and thus started the second row of elements. When he could not find an element with expected mass and properties, he left a blank space. Mendeleev organised it according to atomic mass and chemical properties - not atomic mass as it is today.

Element: Lead (Pb)

This scientific history is important in the history of scientific knowledge, but why does the Girls Grammar periodic table also include the names of individuals, families, and groups of people important to our own story? The Science Learning Centre was made possible thanks to the contributions of many philanthropic supporters. This support from the School community has been a consistent thread in the development of the School and, rather than display an honour board in the traditional format, it was decided to create a “Wall of Thanks” in the form of the iconic periodic table. Each element includes a short teachable moment, with acknowledgement of the donors who supported that particular element.