The short form of Mendeleev’s Periodic Table of Chemical Elements: toolbox for learning the basics of inorganic chemistry. A contribution to celebrate 150 years of the Periodic Table in 2019

Abstract

A condensed overview about the forefathers’ and Mendeleev’s contribution to the compilation of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements is presented. Milestones en route to the modern Periodic Table are ‘electrification’ of the Periodic Law, discovery of the rare-earth elements and the noble gases, investigation of the atomic structure and discovery of the transuranic elements. Then the contribution focuses on the Table’s short form as toolbox for learning the basics of inorganic chemistry. Similarities and differences in the chemical behavior of elements on the basis of full, close and approximate electronic analogies and the kainosymmetric sublevels (1s, 2p, 3d, 4f) are described. A question/answer section completes the article.