The periodic table of elements in chemistry textbooks... for junior high-schools
The periodic table of elements in chemistry textbooks... for junior high-schools

Summary/Abstract: The analysis of chemistry textbooks for the 3rd stage of education was carried out in order to obtain in-depth information on the degree of realization of the first educational goal from general requirements (learning outcomes) of the core curriculum: A student obtains and processes information from various sources with the use of information-communication technologies. The range of occurrence of content related to the periodic table of elements in chemistry textbooks for the 3rd stage of education was investigated. The choice of this source of information was dictated by the provisions of the curriculum for general education on the one hand, and on the other, by the fact that the periodic table is a foundation of modern chemistry – the good command of the periodic table not only allows to systematize the knowledge, but also, to anticipate and understand the properties of chemical elements. We analyzed all the series of chemistry textbooks for junior high schools, which have been approved for use in schools by the Ministry of Education since 2009. The study results indicate that the content of all series of textbooks contains the periodic table of elements along with the materials helpful in forming the skills of reading data from such source of information. The most authors of textbooks also took care of that the periodic table of elements was present in every part of the series, which should help students in consolidating the ability to use this tool. The colors most often used in periodic tables to indicate the nature of the chemical elements were different shades of blue and pink, which may help in consolidating the knowledge, but it can also lead to the formation of students’ misconceptions about the properties of elements.

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