There are some great and editable Periodic Table of Elements options available in Microsoft Office – Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides
There are many Periodic Table ‘documents’ on the net but most are PDF’s or images that can’t be changed.
We’re looking for editable Word documents and Excel worksheets that you can adapt, recolor or redesign to suit your needs.
Excel spreadsheet from Jeff Bigler
Microsoft has a download they immodestly and wrongly call the Ultimate Periodic Table worksheet. It’s hardly the ‘Ultimate’, that award goes to a Massachusetts high school teacher.
The wonderful Periodic Table worksheet at MrBigler.com is more than just a table of elements. It also has lists of the elements. Jeff Bigler must have spent a lot of time putting it together.
The main Periodic Table tab is filled with links to the list of elements on the ‘PT Included Fields’ tab.
It’s the most comprehensive Excel Periodic Table of Elements we could find. Each element cell has the atomic number, ions commonly formed, symbol, name and atomic mass.
All that detail is in the list on the ‘PT Included Fields’ tab. There are other tabs with more element data in list form.
The Excel lists are not modern Excel Tables with all the benefits they have, but that makes little difference to the usefulness of this worksheet.
Our only concern is that the MrBigler.com download is in the older .xls format. We generally recommended avoiding downloads/email attachments in the old .doc .xls .ppt formats. See Why you should delete .doc .xls .ppt files. But this worksheet is so damn good. Download it and convert to .xlsx. If you use the worksheet, make sure to credit Jeff Bigler.
Paul Brandt has some more colorful Excel worksheets, Periodic Table 1.xlsx and Periodic Table 2.xlsx
Word documents
As we said, PDF Periodic Tables are aplenty. Editable Word documents in .docx format are a little harder to find.
There are many variations on the Periodic Table document. Some have minimal information, for use in exams while others have a lot of information or nicer designs.
A forum page at IonicViper.org has some nice contributions.
Barbara Reisner has a minimalist, exam-ready Periodic Table
Matthew Riehl contributes a more informative Periodic Table document.
PowerPoint slides
Any of the Word or Excel versions can be copied/pasted into PowerPoint, either directly or as an image. But if you’re looking for something in PPTX format …
Margaret Scheuermann has a plain but detailed PowerPoint slide either with element names or not.
There are more elements to be found ….
Well, plenty more Periodic Tables variations. If the above options don’t suit you, go hunting the web for others. Use the filetype: search parameter to limit your results to Word filetype:docx Excel filetype:xlsx or PowerPoint filetype:pptx
Tex / LaTex versions
No real connection with Microsoft Office, but if you’re looking for a Tex/LaTex version of the Periodic Table, head over to GitHub.
Tom Lehrer’s Periodic Table song
No mention of the Periodic Table is complete without Tom Lehrer, the world’s funniest mathematician. There are several videos that have added animations to his song …
This and any other YouTube video can be added to a PowerPoint slide or How to download a YouTube video.
A scrolling list of the elements, useful if you’re trying to memorize the song.
The great man himself, Tom Lehrer live in Copenhagen.
Periodic Table of Videos
Brady Haran and the University of Nottingham have made a video about each of the known elements.
