Question

In Mendeléev’s Periodic Table the elements were arranged in the increasing order of their atomic masses. However, cobalt with atomic mass of 58.93 amu was placed before nickel having an atomic mass of 58.71 amu. Give reason for the same.

Answer 1

In Mendeleev′s periodic table there are instances where elements with higher atomic masses are placed before the element with lower atomic mass. This was done to ensure that elements with similar properties were included in the same group. Hence Cobalt was placed before Nickel despite the higher atomic number of Cobalt than Nickel.