Explore all 118 elements with trends, state of matter, quiz mode, and Africa's critical role in global mineral supply chains.
The continent sits on extraordinary mineral wealth that powers the modern world — yet no element has ever been named after Africa.
In 2016, four new elements (113, 115, 117, 118) were named — after Japan, Moscow, Tennessee, and Yuri Oganessian. A campaign proposed naming one "Africanium" (symbol Af) to honor the continent's unmatched contribution to the world's mineral supply. IUPAC did not adopt it. Today, elements are named after every inhabited continent except Africa: Europium (Europe), Americium (Americas) — but nothing for Africa. The periodic table itself is built on African minerals, yet the continent remains unnamed within it.
James Andrew Harris (1932–2000) became the first African American to co-discover new chemical elements. Working at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Harris developed critical nuclear target preparation techniques that enabled the identification of Rutherfordium (element 104) in 1969 and Dubnium (element 105) in 1970. His contributions were essential — without his precisely prepared targets, the experiments could not have succeeded.
Thomas O. Mensah (Ghana) pioneered fiber optics and nanotechnology. Richmond Sarpong (Ghana) leads natural products chemistry research at UC Berkeley. St. Elmo Brady became the first African American to earn a chemistry PhD in 1916. These scientists and many others continue to shape the field.
Five elements — Cobalt (Co), Tantalum (Ta), Tin (Sn), Tungsten (W), and Gold (Au) — are designated conflict minerals when sourced from Central Africa's conflict zones. Known as "3TG+C", their extraction has funded armed groups particularly in eastern DRC. International frameworks like the Dodd-Frank Act and EU Conflict Minerals Regulation now require supply chain due diligence. When you click these elements above, they're tagged with a conflict mineral warning.
The periodic table organizes all 118 known elements by atomic number, electron configuration, and recurring chemical properties. This interactive version adds an African dimension — highlighting which elements are significantly mined on the continent and connecting chemistry to the real-world economies, supply chains, and scientific contributions of Africa.
Africa is the backbone of the modern periodic table in practice. The continent produces over 76% of the world's cobalt, 80% of platinum, 90% of chromium reserves, and 70% of phosphate — elements that are critical for smartphones, electric vehicles, industrial alloys, and fertilizers. Understanding these connections transforms the periodic table from an abstract chart into a map of global economic power.
For students preparing for WAEC (West Africa), KCSE (Kenya), Matric (South Africa), or CBC exams, this tool provides quick access to element data including atomic mass, electron configuration, electronegativity, and atomic radius. The trend visualization mode lets you see patterns across the table — exactly what examiners test.
Africa leads global production for over 15 elements. The DRC produces ~76% of the world's cobalt (Co) and is a major source of tantalum, copper, tin, and diamonds. South Africa holds ~90% of global chromium (Cr) reserves, ~80% of manganese (Mn), and produces ~80% of the world's platinum group metals (Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, Ir, Os). Guinea has the world's largest bauxite (aluminium ore) reserves. Morocco controls ~70% of global phosphate. Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Tanzania are major gold producers. Namibia and Niger produce significant uranium. Zimbabwe and the DRC have growing lithium deposits critical for EV batteries.
Conflict minerals are elements whose extraction and trade finance armed conflict and human rights abuses. The main ones are Tin (Sn), Tantalum (Ta), Tungsten (W), and Gold (Au) — collectively called "3TG" — plus Cobalt (Co). These are especially associated with mining in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries. International laws like the US Dodd-Frank Act (Section 1502) and the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation require companies to trace their supply chains and ensure minerals are sourced responsibly. Click any of these elements in the table above to see their conflict mineral context.
In WAEC (WASSCE Chemistry), expect questions on electron configuration, periodic trends (atomic radius, electronegativity, ionization energy), group properties (especially Groups I, VII, VIII), and transition metals. Use the trend visualization above to see these patterns. In KCSE (Kenya), the periodic table appears in Paper 1 (theory) and Paper 2 (practical), focusing on reactivity trends, bonding, and predicting properties from position. In South African Matric (NSC), questions cover periodicity, chemical bonding, and relating position to properties — the data sheet provided in exams contains a periodic table, but understanding trends from memory is key to scoring well.
The global shift to renewable energy depends heavily on African minerals. Cobalt (76% from DRC) and lithium (growing in Zimbabwe, DRC, Mali) are essential for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. Platinum group metals from South Africa are used in hydrogen fuel cells. Manganese is critical for battery cathodes. Copper from the Zambia-DRC Copperbelt is needed for electric motors and wiring. Silicon for solar panels, graphite from Mozambique and Tanzania for battery anodes, and rare earth elements from Burundi and Malawi for wind turbine magnets — Africa's mineral wealth is foundational to decarbonization.
No. Despite Africa's unmatched contribution to global mineral supply, no element bears the continent's name. Elements have been named after Europe (Europium, Eu), the Americas (Americium, Am), Asia (via Japan — Nihonium, Nh), and even individual US states (Tennessine, Californium). In 2016, when four new elements were named, a public campaign proposed "Africanium" (symbol Af) for one of them. IUPAC did not adopt the proposal. Africa remains the only inhabited continent without an element named after it.
James Andrew Harris (1932–2000) was the first African American to co-discover new chemical elements. Working at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, he developed nuclear target preparation techniques critical to identifying Rutherfordium (element 104) and Dubnium (element 105). Other notable African chemists include Thomas O. Mensah (Ghana), a pioneer in fiber optics and nanotechnology; Richmond Sarpong (Ghana), leading natural products research at UC Berkeley; and Temitope Olomola (Nigeria), researching treatments for neglected tropical diseases.
Electronegativity measures an atom's ability to attract shared electrons in a chemical bond (Pauling scale). It increases across a period (left to right) because nuclear charge increases while atomic radius decreases — electrons are held more tightly. It decreases down a group because electrons are farther from the nucleus. Fluorine (3.98) is the most electronegative element; caesium (0.79) is the least. Use the "Electronegativity" trend view above to see this pattern visually across the table — it's a favourite exam topic in WAEC, KCSE, and Matric.
Of the 118 confirmed elements, 94 occur naturally on Earth (hydrogen through plutonium, though some like technetium and promethium are extremely rare). Elements 95–118 are synthetic — created in particle accelerators and nuclear reactors. The most recently confirmed elements (Nihonium 113, Moscovium 115, Tennessine 117, Oganesson 118) were added in 2016. Synthetic elements are typically unstable with very short half-lives, though scientists continue searching for the theorized "island of stability" — a group of super-heavy elements that might be surprisingly long-lived.