How to: Periodic Table in Numbers.

[boyinthecorn]

I just switched to a Macbook Air, and I love it (never going back). However, I need help in numbers for a class project. Numbers is somewhat different from excel, even though I have no idea what I'm doing with either.... what I need to do is figure out a way to input the periodic table with all the elements listed with their atomic mass. I would like to be able to do is (on a separate sheet), be able to type in an element, and have it return its atomic mass. Also, if i type in more than one element, I would like it to give me the sum of both elements' atomic masses.
Any information on how to do this would be a life saver!
Thanks, Grant.

 

[MatsSkoe]

Is it mandatory that you must type the elements? Elegant solution are checkboxes, a nice feature of Numbers.

 

[boyinthecorn]

Is it mandatory that you must type the elements? Elegant solution are checkboxes, a nice feature of Numbers.

what i would like to happen is that if I type in C for carbon, that it retrieves and shows 12.01. I would like it to be able to give the the sums of, say C and H also, but that isn't too important.

And with the check boxes.... my professor loves ingenuity, so if the end result is the same, he might like it if it's something different.

 

[MatsSkoe]

Try and puzzle with this one! (See attachment)

 

[neutrino23]

I did this before. I don't have access to it just now. If you look through the functions you should get an idea. There is a function that given an input and a list will find the offset of that item in the list (as I recall). Then you can use that offset to retrieve the atomic mass or other parameter and place it in a nearby cell. If you want to retrieve something related to more than one element that sounds like a job for AppleScript.

 

[periodictable]

interactive periodic table

I did this before. I don't have access to it just now. If you look through the functions you should get an idea. There is a function that given an input and a list will find the offset of that item in the list (as I recall). Then you can use that offset to retrieve the atomic mass or other parameter and place it in a nearby cell. If you want to retrieve something related to more than one element that sounds like a job for AppleScript.

This is an interactive periodic table or chart of the chemical elements. periodic table