It's easiest to learn the element symbols that go with the names, write in the symbols, and then add the names. Professionally, most fully-fledged scientists that I know haven't actively memorized the entire periodic table but know most of it anyway from using it over and over again. Learn Elements Charges facts using a simple interactive process (flashcard, … If you get bored learning the elements sequentially, you can skip around the table, but it's harder to remember that information weeks or years down the road. However, if you only have to learn a portion of the periodic table or 20 to 30 elements then mnemonic devices are perfect. A List of the Elements of the Periodic Table, Periodic Table Study Guide - Introduction & History, What the Numbers on the Periodic Table Mean, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College. Whether you're studying for a periodic table quiz or just a chemistry enthusiast, these methods will help you memorize the elements in no time! Yes, you could just memorize the order of the elements, but if you learn the table by actually writing it out, you'll gain an appreciation for the trends in element properties, which is really what the periodic table is all about. Listening to periodic table songs is probably the most fun way to memorize the periodic table, and also the easiest. And there we have it; five fool-proof methods to memorize the elements of the periodic table. Pop in your headphones on your way to school or work and blast some tunes and by the time you get to your destination you'll probably have a few more elements under your belt. Alternatively, you could always come up with your own! Whether you just have a casual interest in chemistry or a huge test on the periodic table tomorrow, I hope that these methods prove as useful for you as they did for me. it's alas necessary for school, university, and even if you decide to go into science as your career. Make a phrase you can remember using the first letters or symbols of the elements. You'd be forgiven for thinking that it seems stupid to take a periodic table quiz until you're confident that you've already learned all of the elements, but hear me out. Start small, with one or two rows or columns at a time. I've found that it's really helpful to know beyond that as well because it means you don't have to always have a copy on you to answer questions. Memorizing the elements of the periodic table in the sentence form is very cool, who discovered an element, where its name comes from and when it was discovered. If you know who discovered an element, where its name comes from and when it was discovered you're much more likely to remember it than if you don't know a single thing about it. In sum, you probably don't have to memorize all of it, but it's handy to know, and a good memory exercise to boot. Non-metals (found on the right) will be negative. It doesn’t make it taste any better, but it makes it possible. The table is updated occasionally, and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has the most current tables. Granted, I already knew about fifty elements all up and I took the quiz about thirty times until I memorized them all, but it's still obvious that this is a powerful method. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. You can use this chart to predict whether or not an atom can bond with another atom.The charge on an atom is related to its valence electrons or oxidation state.. This article lists five strategies to help you memorize the elements of the periodic table. I'll bet anything that you've heard of oxygen, gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead, and if you do then that's already six elements down! Alternatively, you could go by periods (rows) instead, and go from the first, which is just hydrogen and helium, down to the Lanthanides and Actinides that hover below the rest of the table. The idea is to memorize the periodic table in chunks. You might start from the alkali metals (the first column) and repeat them to yourself until you're certain that you've got them, and then move onto the next column. Livermorium seems impossible to remember until you understand that it was first synthesised at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Listed below are five fool-proof methods that I've used myself to help me learn some, and eventually all, of the periodic table. Taking quizzes and testing your knowledge is the single easiest way to learn the periodic table. The best part is that once you've memorized the elements using one of these strategies it only takes occasional maintenance to keep all of those names, numbers and symbols in your mind. You’ll have 23 separate groups of five to learn, with a few left over. Here are tips that may help you memorize the table. Use a mnemonic device to help remember the order of the elements. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Element Mnemonic Device - Periodic Table Symbols, How to Memorize the First 20 Elements on the Periodic Table. Whether it's because of an assignment or simply because you want to know it, you may be faced with memorizing the entire periodic table of elements. This is a chart of the most common charges for atoms of the chemical elements. Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. If you're looking to learn all 118 elements I'd advise you to skip to the next method, because memorising a 118-part mnemonic device is almost harder than just learning the elements themselves. However, for those of us who struggle retaining words like Copernicium and Livermorium, this technique works perfectly. if you remember just the first element of period two, then it will cue you to remember the others). Chunking is like eating an elephant one mouthful at a time. How you memorize the table depends on what works best for you and your learning style, but here are some recommendations that may help: You'll want to break up the table into groups of around 10 elements at a time to learn the whole table this way. Once you have the table, you need to learn it. Answer: It depends on how mean your chemistry teacher is! For example, for the first nine elements, you might use H appy He ctor L ikes Be er B ut C ould N ot O btain F ood. Little details like that will help you cement the most difficult elements in your head and help you with spelling at the same time.