Build an interactive periodic table with filters, trends and element facts for your class

What makes it better than a poster

• Colour by property. Switch between block, group, state at room temperature, metal or non-metal, electronegativity, atomic radius, first ionisation energy and melting point. Trends that are hard to explain in words become visible in a second.
• Filters. Show only the transition metals, only gases, or only elements discovered before 1800, and dim the rest.
• Element cards. Name, symbol, atomic number, relative atomic mass, electron configuration, common uses and a sentence on discovery.
• Compare. Pick two or three elements and see their properties in a table, which is useful for questions on reactivity down a group.
• Temperature slider. Move it and watch elements change between solid, liquid and gas, a favourite on a classroom screen.

Quiz modes for practice

Once students know their way around, turn the table into a test. Common modes: name the element from its symbol (and the reverse), click where an element sits on a blank table, which group does this belong to, and put these four elements in order of reactivity. Keep a score and a list of missed elements in the browser, so a student can retry only those. Short rounds of ten questions suit the end of a lesson.

Describe it to Anticode

"An interactive periodic table for secondary school chemistry. Standard layout with lanthanides and actinides below. Colour by category, state at room temperature, electronegativity, atomic radius and first ionisation energy, with a legend and a scale. Filters for groups 1, 2, 7 and 0 and the transition metals. Tap an element for a card with atomic number, symbol, relative atomic mass, electron configuration, three common uses and a one-line discovery note. Compare up to three elements. A temperature slider for states. A quiz mode with four question types and a missed-elements review saved in this browser. Large, high-contrast cells readable on a projector, and keyboard navigation with arrow keys."

Check the data

The app can't fetch data from an online database, so the model writes all 118 elements' values into the app itself. Values such as relative atomic mass, electronegativity and melting point are well documented, but a model can still get one wrong or use a different convention from your syllabus. Before you use it with a class:

1. Compare a sample of values against the data booklet or reference your exam board uses, including the trickier ones such as the noble gases' electronegativity, which many tables leave blank.
2. Check that rounding matches your syllabus (relative atomic mass to one decimal place is common in school data sheets).
3. Read the uses and discovery notes for the elements your course covers in detail.
4. Ask for any corrections in plain words; version history keeps the earlier copy if you need it.

The element card's uses and history are where a model is most likely to be vague. Keep them short and factual, or supply your own wording for the elements you teach.

Using it in class

Publish it and put the link on your class page or a QR code on the board. Students can open it on any device with a browser, and it can be installed on tablets to open from the home screen. Nothing is collected from students: quiz scores stay on each device. A teacher who wants scores can ask for a results screen students submit through the app's contact form, which reaches you by email; see the training quiz page for that pattern.

Limits

• Data is fixed at build time. New measurements or naming decisions don't appear until you ask for a change.
• No 3D molecule viewer from outside libraries. The app can draw simple atom diagrams itself, but can't load external models or data.
• No class tracking. Scores aren't collected unless students send them through a form.
• Not a reference for research or safety data. Use proper safety data sheets for anything practical.

For more classroom tools, see the interactive lesson, flashcard app and teaching simulation pages.

Questions people ask

Does the interactive periodic table work without internet?

The app makes no network requests once loaded, because all the data is inside it. Test it offline on your devices before relying on that.

Are the element values accurate?

They're written by the model from well-documented data, so most will be right. Check them against your exam board's data sheet before teaching with it.

Can students use it on phones?

Yes. Ask for a layout that scrolls the table sideways or switches to a list on narrow screens.