# Science people, critique my periodic table **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492 "2018-03-13T15:41:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/1 "2018-03-13T15:41:02Z")
The person who bought the table for my classroom wall bought the dumbest one I’ve ever seen, without names or even the stairs to show the metalloids. Using suggestions I got here, I have modified a vector file of a table using Inkscape. What suggestions do you have? Especially look at the little tables at the bottom left that indicate electron filling order and electronegativity. I’m unsure about those, especially the electronegativity. I have put the lanthanide and actinide series according to a suggestion from my friend with a better science education than I. Are there arguments to be made about that? [https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dfyewWAdtvhs8axyCsuMyUC22ouq37sk](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dfyewWAdtvhs8axyCsuMyUC22ouq37sk) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/2 "2018-03-13T16:30:13Z")
Your lanthanides and actinides are shown coming between the wrong columns (should be one to the right). Other than that it looks like a pretty normal Meendelev periodic table of elements. The electronegativity values (I’m assuming you are using the Pauling scale) are only approximate and will depend on the actual molecular configuration, so I’m not sure of the value of including those other than as a general guide as to whether an element will tend to be an electron donor or receipient in a chemical bond, but there is nothing wrong about it. Who creates a periodic table without the element names? How is that supposed to teach students anything? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/3 "2018-03-13T17:23:39Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Who creates a periodic table without the element names? How is that supposed to teach students anything? > > Stranger For a test maybe? You know, fill in the blanks? ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/4 "2018-03-13T17:38:01Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Your lanthanides and actinides are shown coming between the wrong columns (should be one to the right). I assume you mean they are one too far to the right. They should be one to the left of where they are shown. Also the transition metals are shown in yellow not the gray as indicated in the identification. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/5 "2018-03-13T17:52:22Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > I assume you mean they are one too far to the right. They should be one to the left of where they are shown. Also the transition metals are shown in yellow not the gray as indicated in the identification. Correct, and good catch on the transition metals. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/6 "2018-03-13T17:54:28Z")
There’s an error in the fine print at the bottom about the relative atomic mass. It lists three radioactive elements that have actual terrestrial average atomic mass instead of the mass of the isotope with the longest half-life. That’s true for two of them, but not for plutonium. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/7 "2018-03-13T18:00:17Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > The person who bought the table for my classroom wall bought the dumbest one I’ve ever seen, without names or even the stairs to show the metalloids. Using suggestions I got here, I have modified a vector file of a table using Inkscape. > > What suggestions do you have? Especially look at the little tables at the bottom left that indicate electron filling order and electronegativity. I’m unsure about those, especially the electronegativity. I have put the lanthanide and actinide series according to a suggestion from my friend with a better science education than I. Are there arguments to be made about that? > > [https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dfyewWAdtvhs8axyCsuMyUC22ouq37sk](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dfyewWAdtvhs8axyCsuMyUC22ouq37sk) Glad to see my advice to modify an existing vector file was helpful. P.S. There’s a little extraneous pink thingy on the right border. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/8 "2018-03-13T18:10:37Z")
Oh, and center up that title, it’s bugging me. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/9 "2018-03-13T18:21:01Z")
Good points. Transition metal box recolored, extra pink boxes deleted, arrow moved. Oh, and I just changed the footnote to be “However, for the elements Th and Pa which have a characteristic terrestrial isotopic composition…” The new phrase is not in the linked pdf below. Any other thoughts about the little tables to the bottom left? Revised version: [Periodic Table Vector 8.pdf - Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GaXUb01olEBJLEtF7qczBff0afH-odOb) ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/10 "2018-03-13T18:25:27Z")
Just for ease of reading, especially at a distance, it would be far better to set the written-out element names like Hydrogen and not HYDROGEN. If there’s a good reason for the all caps (even if only that this is how periodic tables are always done), then keep them. But for reasons of readability and appearance, all caps is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/11 "2018-03-13T18:38:22Z")
Also (and this enters the realm of cosmetic twiddling, but why not, now that you’re here)… The symbols (H, He, Li, Be…) are quite low in the boxes. Is this because you need room above them for something? If you’re not intentionally leaving room for something, I suggest keeping all the other components as is, but moving the symbols up, nearer to the middle of the box. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/12 "2018-03-13T18:49:18Z")
Since I only get to print this once, I think I will actually increase the size of the symbols and move them up, and change from all caps. Anyone know how to change the paper size and then view at that size, so I can try to read a square on the screen from across the room? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/13 "2018-03-13T19:21:29Z")
The arrow pointing to the lanthanides is still in the wrong place (although putting it in the right place seems nontrivial since the electronegativity chart is in the way). Agree with DavidwithanR that the element names should not be all uppercase. The word GROUP at the upper left is floating there without any clear referent. It seems to be associated with the +1 directly below it rather than the group number to the left. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/14 "2018-03-13T19:28:29Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > If there’s a good reason for the all caps (even if only that this is how periodic tables are always done), then keep them. But for reasons of readability and appearance, all caps is wrong. That was the first thing I noticed as well. All caps takes more effort to read and comprehend. Also, is it normal to have this many significant digits for atomic mass, and why do some elements have more significant digits than others? Granted I’m an astronomer and not a chemist, but it seems the atomic mass is a function of isotope abundance and therefore a function of where the sample comes from, and pointless to specify to 0.001 AMU precision. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/15 "2018-03-13T19:56:15Z")
Gallium is actually solid (by a margin of less than five degrees!) at 25° C. And I don’t really see why aluminum should be colored as a metalloid; it has pretty thoroughly metallic properties. (Tin, on the other hand, has a non-metallic allotrope which is stable slightly below room temperature.) ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/16 "2018-03-13T21:55:39Z")
The last line on the page has a grammar problem. I have fixed it - **unless** I’ve misunderstood the meaning, in which case I’ve ruined it. 🙂 How about this: > [@](#): > > However, Thorium and Protactinium each have a characteristic terrestrial isotopic composition, so atomic weights are indicated for them. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/17 "2018-03-13T22:03:48Z")
Or this: > [@](#): > > However, for those elements (Th and Pa) that have a characteristic terrestrial isotopic composition, an atomic weight is indicated. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/18 "2018-03-13T22:14:42Z")
I hadn’t noticed the text at the bottom when I made the comment above. But why does it say “relative atomic mass is given with five significant digits” when some are given with 4 digits and some with 6 digits? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/19 "2018-03-13T22:16:09Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > Since I only get to print this once, I think I will actually increase the size of the symbols and move them up, and change from all caps. > > Anyone know how to change the paper size and then view at that size, so I can try to read a square on the screen from across the room? Assuming you’re working on it in Inkscape at actual size (as you should be) another way is to select a small section (one element’s square) and go to “Export PNG Image” and then export just that “Selection” at 300 dpi, then print it at the same dpi on a regular letter size piece of paper. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492/20 "2018-03-13T22:31:07Z")
I don’t know what size this is. I don’t know how to find out. I haven’t tried yet. Thanks for the grammar help. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-people-critique-my-periodic-table/810492.md?page=2)