The document discusses the history and development of the periodic table. It explains that early scientists like Dobereiner and Newlands began classifying elements based on their properties, but that Dmitri Mendeleev created the first recognizable periodic table in 1871. His table arranged elements in order of atomic mass and predicted properties of undiscovered elements. Later, Moseley's discovery of atomic number allowed the modern periodic table to arrange elements by atomic number instead of mass. The document also discusses trends in properties within the periodic table.