Question

Which law was proposed by the English chemist JAR Newlands in 1865 pertaining to the musical notes? Which entire group of elements was not discovered by that time? Why did this law fail after calcium?

Answer 1

Step 1: Law proposed by JAR Newlands:

• "The law of octaves" was proposed by the English chemist JAR Newlands.
• This law states that “By arranging elements in the increasing order of their atomic masses, Every eighth element has the similar properties”
• He compared this law with musical notes, where every eighth note is comparable to the first.

Step 2: Element not discovered at that time:

At that time, noble gases were missing in his arrangement. This was because these elements were not found at that time..

Step 3: Reason for law fail after Calcium (Ca):

This octave law is applicable up to the element Calcium(Ca). After Calcium(Ca), it fails because of its higher atomic masses. This law fails to accommodate for the elements with higher atomic masses.