Instructify

You can find a lot of interactive periodic tables online, but periodictable.com has one thing the others don’t — the easiest-to-remember URL.

Seriously, though, this periodic table is more than just a pretty web address. You can click on any of the elements, bringing up lots of information and high-quality photos, so you can finally see what reclusive elements like bismuth look like.

Periodictable.com is brought to you by Theodore Gray, a science and chemistry columnist for Popular Science and co-founder of Wolfram Research. He takes science education seriously, and this site has information sections for teachers and students, as well as scientists. Gray says, “This site is entirely ‘school safe’ in the sense that while the writing is lively and entertaining, students will not find anything inappropriate here, and links to external sites are limited to other reputable websites.” [EDITOR'S NOTE: Little does he know riff-raff like us are linking to him, however.]

If you like the look of periodictable.com better than the wrinkled old chart of the elements you’ve got hanging in your classroom, you can order a poster version. For your students, however, the site itself will likely be enough, and it gives them all the information on the elements they’ll need.

While the field of online periodic tables is a crowded one, periodictable.com distinguishes itself with great photos, good info, and a URL you don’t have to write down. The snazzy black background is nice, too. -BILL FERRIS

Periodictable.com

Related stuff:

See the periodic table in context at WebElements

Upgrade Your Knowledge of the Elements with the Dynamic Periodic Table

Have a Look at This: Visual Elements Periodic Table

Art and Science Collide in the Periodic Table Printmaking Project

See elements in action with the Periodic Table of Videos