Periodic Table Grounding Data

Overview

Pass either a chemical symbol or full element name to query the element directory. Each lookup returns classification details, physical state, discoverer history, and X/Y grid coordinates for table rendering. Paid plans include thermodynamic values like melting and boiling points, density, electron affinity, electronegativity, and electron shell configurations.

Live Test Periodic Table Grounding Data Source →

The tool

Once your client is connected to the VerveContext server, this appears in its tool list as PeriodicTableGroundingData. It is read-only and open-world — it fetches and never mutates anything on your side — so most clients call it without asking you to confirm.

{
  "name": "PeriodicTableGroundingData",
  "arguments": {
    "name": "hydrogen"
  }
}

You do not name the tool yourself; the model picks it. Asking about hydrogen in the terms this source covers is enough for it to reach for PeriodicTableGroundingData on its own — naming it explicitly also works, and is the way to force the call.

Connecting

One server URL covers every source in the catalog, including this one. Authorization is OAuth: the client opens a browser once, and there is no key to paste into a config file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vervecontext": {
      "url": "https://api.vervecontext.com/v1/mcp"
    }
  }
}

https://api.vervecontext.com/v1/mcp

Per-client setup — Claude, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT — is on the MCP setup page.

Arguments

These are the properties on the tool's inputSchema, so a well-behaved client validates them before the call is made. Premium arguments are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

What the model gets back

The result carries a structuredContent object matching the tool's declared outputSchema, so a client reads fields without parsing prose. status is "ok" and error is null on success; a null field means the value was not available for that input, not that the call failed.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "count": 1,
    "elements": [
      {
        "name": "Hydrogen",
        "appearance": "colorless gas",
        "atomic_mass": 1.008,
        "boil": 20.271,
        "category": "diatomic nonmetal",
        "density": 0.08988,
        "discovered_by": "Henry Cavendish",
        "melt": 13.99,
        "molar_heat": 28.836,
        "named_by": "Antoine Lavoisier",
        "number": 1,
        "period": 1,
        "group": 1,
        "phase": "Gas",
        "source": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen",
        "summary": "Hydrogen is a chemical element with chemical symbol H and atomic number 1. With an atomic weight of 1.00794 u, hydrogen is the lightest element on the periodic table. Its monatomic form (H) is the most abundant chemical substance in the Universe, constituting roughly 75% of all baryonic mass.",
        "symbol": "H",
        "xpos": 1,
        "ypos": 1,
        "wxpos": 1,
        "wypos": 1,
        "shells": [
          1
        ],
        "electron_configuration": "1s1",
        "electron_configuration_semantic": "1s1",
        "electron_affinity": 72.769,
        "electronegativity_pauling": 2.2,
        "ionization_energies": [
          1312
        ],
        "cpk-hex": "ffffff",
        "block": "s"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Why ground on it

A model can produce something that looks like this answer from its training data, and be confidently out of date or simply wrong. This source returns the current value in a shape you can check, which is the difference between an answer you can cite and one you have to hedge.

Point an evaluation at count: it is the field most worth pinning a claim to, and it is either present and current or absent — never plausibly invented.

Failure modes

Errors come back as tool errors carrying a sentence the model can act on, not a bare status code. Error handling covers the full list.

A call costs 2 credits each time the tool actually runs; a model that reasons about the tool without calling it costs nothing.

Use cases

Interactive Table UI

When building web-based periodic tables, developers plot tiles using provided grid coordinates and apply CPK hex values for element color schemes.

Chemistry Learning Apps

Educational platforms display atomic numbers, physical phases, and discoverer records to students reviewing fundamental chemical properties in study flashcards.

Laboratory Sample Inventory

Chemical inventory systems cross-reference raw element symbols against standardized names, blocks, and groups during reagent intake and cataloging.

Molecular Model Visualization

Render 3D molecular structures in browser viewports by mapping chemical symbols directly to standardized CPK coloring codes and classification categories.

Other ways to use Periodic Table Grounding Data

Set up Periodic Table Grounding Data on VerveContext, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveContext account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

Related

More in Science: