The Periodic Chart Explained

excellent
key review info
application features
  • Detailed information on each element
  • (4 more, see all...)

Teacher or student, everyone searches for the best and easiest way to teach and learn the intricacies of chemistry, which is for some a complicated subject matter while others build up a passion for it. Regardless of the category you may place yourself into, you will definitely need a Periodic Table to study or teach chemistry. The old paper or cardboard charts hanging in the chemistry lab are out of date for a long time and more detailed and appealing solutions are sought out.

A digital answer to this problem is always available in the form of dedicated educational software that presents the chemical elements and their properties either summarized or with a more in-depth approach. In the latter category Paul Alan Freshney?s Periodic Table fits, offering a certain level of rarely seen insightfulness.

Periodic Table has both high quality and well-structured complexity on its side with detailed information, excellent illustrations and unsurpassed ease of use. This freeware application comes in three versions, Mini, Standard and Extra, that differ only in terms of photos and optimal resolution. The Extra version, which was the subject of the test, offers, as a plus, high-resolution images of the chemical elements in various physical states.

The main interface of Periodic Table is very uncomplicated and easy to handle for everyone. The display mode is highly customizable and Periodic Table can display the elements in color, graph or combined views. Periodic Table has two main panels: one displaying the periodic chart and the other, the detailed information for a selected element or element category. You can also choose to view the chemical elements based on their physical state under standard conditions.

For each element in the chart, Periodic Table displays the main properties, isotopes, spectra, compounds, reactions, shell structure and atomic radius diagrams. The info regarding each chemical element?s properties starts from the discovery and name origin, includes the element?s sources, abundance and uses, as well as its history and some representative images.

However, this is not all. You get even more information about thermal, electrical, chemical and optical properties, flammability, oxidation states, ionization energies, crystal structures and the list doesn?t stop here. Periodic Table contains information even about the occurrence in nature and the production of each element displayed in the table.

With regard to the reactions presented, Periodic Table takes into account the elements? reactions with water, air, halogens, acids and bases, depending on the category of each element. Also, if you want to view a bar graph with the melting or boiling points, density, atomic weight or any other property of a chemical element, Periodic Table is ready to oblige.

The graphical representations presented by Periodic Table include the atomic radius and atomic structure of which the latter can be in the form of a box notation or a diagram. Periodic Table also comes with a set of great photos of the elements in their natural state and with detailed documentation that comprises subjects such as the abundance of every element in the Solar System, chemical makeup of the human body, Alkali, Halogens and many more.

Periodic Table is able to fulfill the need for theoretical knowledge of any user by providing no less than 86 biographies of famous scientists and a comprehensive glossary of terms used in chemistry. In addition, 18 methods of listing the chemical elements are available in Periodic Table. The application has a powerful built-in search engine that will browse through over 92,000 words to find a specific element property or other related keyword you may need to locate.

If there is any aspect you may find a bit difficult to understand about using Periodic Table or the sections it is divided in, you have at your disposal a thought through help file in HTML format that will provide most - if not all - the answers you need. Some of the interface buttons can be displayed in 9 other languages, but all other features and texts are still written in English.

At the end of the day, Periodic Table will unquestionably represent a valuable tool in the arsenal of every student or chemistry teacher with its wide-ranging information and high-quality graphical illustrations.

The complexity of Periodic Table doesn?t make it at all complicated to use. The wide variety of aspects it deals with renders Periodic Table indispensable to anyone trying to get a general idea about what chemistry really deals with or to those who study this subject matter and need really detailed information.

The Good

Periodic Table excels in providing facts and figures, tables and graphs, great illustrations and extensive information on each and every element in the periodic chart of chemical elements.

The application also has a very intuitive and easy to use interface, with clear-cut info sections and uncomplicated functions and commands, while also being well thought-out in terms of informational structure.

The Bad

There are no real shortcomings while using Periodic Table, except for the fact that sometimes it uses more system resources than it would be expected. However, this tends to happen most often while dealing with high-quality illustrations of the chemical elements.

The Truth

There?s no doubt that Paul Alan Freshney?s Periodic Table is a top if not the best solution to teaching and also learning the chemical elements. It introduces teachers and students to interactive and thorough approach to chemistry that can be used in the classroom and at home with the same ease.

If you want your students to always attend your courses with interest and - why not - pleasure or if you need an A+ in chemistry, look no further than Paul Alan Freshney?s Periodic Table.

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user interface 5
features 5
ease of use 5
pricing / value 5


final rating 5
Editor's review
excellent
 
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