lanthanides - La and Lu in periodic tables...

Submitted by Julia Chan / University of Texas - Dallas on Mon, 04/25/2011 - 19:46

I find that the periodic tables in general chemistry textbooks are not consistent.  In some textbooks, Ce is the first lanthanide and ends with Lu.  In other texts, I see that La is the first lanthanide & ends with Yb.  I would argue the format should be the former since Lu3+ is a f14 element.  I'm sure there are papers on this topic, but it still drives me nuts that elements can be placed in different positions.  What are your thoughts?

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