Periodic table: Paper vs Phone App

The periodic table is a very useful tool when it comes to science classes, but when it comes to retaining all information about the 100+ different elements on the periodic table, some would find it to be quite challenging. Printing the periodic table out and customizing it to fit your needs is not the worst idea but wouldn’t it be easier to just download an app on your phone. If it is downloaded on your phone not only, can you take it everywhere you go but you don’t have to carry around a piece of paper. Trying to carry the periodic table around on paper can be just as challenging as trying to remember all the information on the table.

Comparing the paper to an app would make it quite easy to figure out which one you should choose. For starters, the paper copy and the app do share some similarities. Of course, they share the fact that the table is there for you to look at always and you can customize the table to fit the class. When I talk about customizing the table, I mean writing or even coloring the groups of s, d, p, and f, along with writing down the charges at the top of the table, and even grouping the metal, metalloids, and gasses. Along with all of these customizations, the only thing that you have to worry about is making sure that the paper stays in good condition, unlike a phone where you have to make sure stays charged and does not run out of battery.

The apps for periodic tables have the advantage over that on paper for multiple reasons. Yes, you have to make sure your phone doesn’t die but how often does a person let that happen. If you do your work at home, you can always keep your phone plugged in while you work. The periodic tables on apps also have most of if not all the information you need already on the app, it just comes down to you looking over the information and making sure you are prepared. The app also has some added information that can’t fit on a normal periodic table. Apps include the Latin version of the name along with the year that the element was discovered. That’s not all either, the app also includes the density of the element along with its melting and boiling point. Everything that could be found in a book or on the periodic table inside of a book can be found on one app on a phone.

In all, having a periodic table app on your phone would be just as valuable as having it on a piece of paper or trying to look at one in a book. The apps end up providing as much information as the periodic table and the book combined. People today would rather have things on their phones that they deem valuable and for chemistry students, the periodic table is very valuable.