One of the staples to a science classroom is the periodic table of elements. Students are introduced to this in some fashion in their early grades but explore it deeper as they progress through middle and high school. Much like the calculator has made math a little easier for some, Google’s new interactive tool has made learning about the periodic table easier and more accessible.

The 3D tool looks like a standard periodic table poster that can be found in many classrooms; however, it is much more than that. Clicking on an element will give you more information about it. There is short fun-fact or interesting info about the element as well as the element symbol and the group it belongs to. You can also learn the element’s atomic mass, density, boiling point, melting point, and a bit about where it can be found. You can even see its year of discovery and the person who discovered it.

One of our favorite parts about the interactive feature is the 3D Bohr model of the element molecule that comes up on the right info panel. You can click and drag to manipulate the molecule to view it from different angles. This is helpful when counting electrons, protons, or neutrons. All of these are displayed in a particular way so they are easily identifiable.

This useful tool can be incorporated into many lessons either as a standalone activity or part of a project-based learning activity. To learn more about using Google Apps in the classroom or integrating STEM into your curriculum, check out our Course Library on OTIS. We offer courses on Technology to Support the Danielson Framework, Labdisc, 3D Printing, and our micro-credential series. Interested, but don’t have a subscription? No problem: click on the link below for a free 7-day trial.

For more tips, tricks, and tools for teaching in and out of the classroom, check out more articles on the Teq Talk blog.

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