Periodic table explorer sim
The student taps elements to see their shells, properties and real look, tests themselves on configuration, group and period, predicts trends down groups and across Period 3, and checks Mendeleev's predictions.
The periodic table · covers the O-Level, IGCSE, GCSE topic
What the sim shows
The periodic table puts the elements in order of proton number, Z. A period is a row: its number is the number of shells in use. A group is a column: elements in a group have the same number of outer electrons, so they react alike. For Groups 1 and 2 the group number is the number of outer electrons; for Groups 13 to 17 it is that number + 10. Noble gases are Group 18 (Group 0 on some data sheets), and helium has only 2. Metals lie left of the zig-zag line and non-metals right. Down Group 1 the metals melt at lower temperatures (Li 181 °C to Cs 28 °C) and get more reactive; down Group 17 the halogens melt and boil at higher temperatures (F₂ −220 °C to I₂ 114 °C), darken, and get less reactive. Transition elements are dense, have high melting points, form coloured compounds and act as catalysts. Mendeleev ordered elements by atomic mass in 1869, left gaps, and predicted gallium and germanium before they were found; the table here is his 1871 short form. Limits: melting points, boiling points and densities are from the CRC Handbook (97th edn) as given on the RSC Periodic Table, rounded to whole °C; Aᵣ is from the chosen data sheet or IUPAC. Gas densities are worked out from pV = nRT at 20 °C and 1 atmosphere (real chlorine is about 1% denser). The 2, 8, 8 shell rule holds only to calcium; beyond that the third shell fills to 18, and Cr and Cu break the pattern. Reactivity is an order from school observations, not a measured number. Atomic radii are metallic, covalent or van der Waals (each point is tagged), so compare within a series. Helium does not freeze at normal pressure. Francium and astatine have never been made in visible amounts. Phosphorus is white phosphorus and carbon is graphite. Nothing moves on its own: each tap or button press is one step. The drawings show how each element looks; they are not photographs and not to scale.
- White tile: the element as it looks at 20 °C, in its real colour
- Cells: metals blue-grey, non-metals cream, metalloids striped; the thick line divides them
- Trend graph: dark dots real values, orange rings your predictions
Use it in your lessons
- Try it here: anyone can unlock 2 figures free, and a free account unlocks up to 5. Runs on a laptop, a Chromebook or a phone; nothing to install.
- Present it and share student links with the teacher plan, from US$5 a month, billed yearly.
- Put it on your own website or LMS for US$9, paid once, or every sim from US$29 a month.
Free guide: 12 practicals as sims, and how to run one in a lesson →
Need a version for your exact set-up? Have one made: US$49 a figure in an order of 5.
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