93 pages • 3 hours read
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
Introduction-Part 1
Reading Check
1. What is Plato’s name for the gaseous elements on the right side of the periodic table?
2. What did Jack Kilby invent that replaced transistors in technology?
3. Which missing element did Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran discover?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How are archeologists able to track where Lewis and Clark camped?
2. What is unique about the atoms numbered 57-71?
3. According to Sam Kean, why is it unlikely that life could be silicon-based instead of carbon-based?
4. What was Dmitri Mendeleev’s contribution to the periodic table? Why did he leave blank spaces?
Paired Resource
“How the Periodic Table Organizes the Elements”
- This 4-minute video explains the organization of the periodic table.
- Shared themes include The Wonderous Properties of the Elements and The Endless Search for Knowledge.
- Who developed the periodic table? What is the role of valence electrons in determining how it is organized? Why are groups of elements called families? What are the rows of the periodic table called?
