ABSTRACT
Atomistic philosophies are well documented in world history. The development of modern atomic theory, however, has its origins in the 19th century. The development of atomic theory is presented with an emphasis on understanding the implications of the experimental results that led scientists to posit that matter is made up of atoms. From there attention is given to understanding the origins of the periodic table and the experimental discovery of atomic structure. The chapter finishes by presenting a systematic study of how chemists convey the atomic number (Z), mass number (A), and charge number (z) of an element using either annotated atomic symbols or modified versions of the name of an element.
