While developing his periodic table, Dmitri Mendeleev broke his own rule and placed the element tellurium before iodine in the group. He did this even though tellurium's atomic mass was known to be greater than iodine's. In his notes, Mendeleev stated that he expected tellurium to have a lower atomic mass than iodine. However, all measurements continue to show that tellurium has a greater atomic mass than iodine even though tellurium acts like it has a lower atomic mass. What is the most likely reason that Mendeleev placed tellurium before iodine?

The most likely reason that Mendeleev placed tellurium before iodine is Mendeleev observed that tellurium has chemical properties like other elements in its group, and he did not know that neutrons cause the greater atomic mass.

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okpalawalter8 okpalawalter8 · Answer 2 · 2022-07-07T11:56:07+02:00

The most likely reason that Mendeleev placed tellurium before iodine is Mendeleev likely put tellurium ahead of iodine because he saw that it shares chemical characteristics with other elements in its group and was unaware that neutrons generate the bigger atomic mass. This is further explained below.

Who is Dmitri Mendeleev?

Generally, Dmitri Mendeleev is a Russian scientist who is credited with developing the periodic categorization system for the elements.

In conclusion, Mendeleev most likely put tellurium before iodine because he noted that tellurium had chemical characteristics like other elements in its group, and he did not realize that neutrons create an increased atomic mass. This is the most plausible explanation for Mendeleev's ordering of the elements.