> How many elements are listed on the periodic table?And the answer: 118.Each of the 118 elements on the periodic table has its own chemical symbol, justone or two letters that represent the element’s name. The first is H forhydrogen, while #118 is Og, for Oganesson.Photo credit: Double sharp[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Double_sharp].The periodic table is anessential tool for scientists to discover new qualities about life as we knowit. Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist, first introduced his periodic table ofelements in 1869, yet it wasn't the first attempt to organize the elementsaccording to periodic properties. Two decades prior, a German chemist namedJulius Lothar Meyer published an incomplete periodic table with the work he andMendeleev had completed so far. Ultimately, both chemists completed invaluablework for their field that resonated for centuries to come. When Mendeleev put his periodic table in order, he left several vacant spaces.By evaluating elements' characteristics relative to those which surrounded it,Mendeleev was able to predict the discovery of several more elements. Forexample, Mendeleev predicted the existence of "eka-silicon," which would fitinto a gap next to silicon. The element germanium was later discovered – itsproperties were found to be similar to the predicted ones and confirmedMendeleev's periodic table.Of the 118 elements currently in the periodic table, 94 are found naturally onEarth. The remaining 27 elements after uranium were not created by stars but byscientists in a lab. This is due to the fact that some elements are produced intrace amounts by the decay of other elements, but even the long radioactivedecay chain is not enough to produce the ultra-heavy elements at the end of theperiodic table. The periodic table would have ended altogether if scientists hadnot pushed the boundaries of natural physics and ventured deeper into the worldof super heavy elements[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/stability-elements.html].Learn more about the periodic table below.