Uses and limitations of scientific models: the Periodic Table as an inductive tool

This paper demonstrates that scientific laws about nature and their representative models (the scientific method), as taught and described by theory, are often different from the method as practised. Using the Periodic Table as an example of a scientific model, a pilot study consisting of separate series of stepwise activities for the 8th and 10th grades was conducted over the period of three or four lessons, as an intricate part of the classroom programme, designed to expose the student to the Periodic Table, its merits and predictive ability, as well as its limitations.

At both grade levels, while a large majority initially took the attitude that the inductive process could be applied without reservation to the Periodic Table to predict the properties of an unknown element, this attitude became much less common after being exposed to historical material showing that uncritical use of the Table can lead to errors. The presented approach to teaching will be of interest to those who wish to be made aware of a method to interconnect the history and philosophy of science to the usefulness and limitations of scientific models such as the Periodic Table.