Question

What was the reason for gaps being left in the periodic table.

Answer 1

Mendeleev's table has the following features:

The elements were organized by Mendeleev in order of increasing relative atomic mass. When he did this, he saw a pattern in the chemical characteristics of the elements and their compounds. After that, he organized the elements by grouping those with comparable qualities together. Mendeleev tweaked his order a little to make his classification work:

• He left spaces for yet-to-be-discovered elements.

Reason for gaps being left in the periodic table:

• The reason for the gaps in the periodic chart is that Mendeleev organized the elements in the periodic table according to their atomic mass. However, he left gaps because not all of the elements needed to fill in those gaps in the periodic table had been identified at the time.
• For example, he left eka-boron in the gap with atomic mass 44, which was eventually filled by boron when it was discovered. Later on, the element scandium was discovered.
• Its qualities were discovered to be comparable to those predicted.
• The properties of the other missing elements, such as gallium and scandium, were also identified, and they matched Mendeleev's predictions. Other scientists were more confident in Mendeleev's periodic table as a result of this, and it was improved further throughout time.