The main value of the periodic table is the ability to predict the chemical properties of an element based on its location on the table. The chemical properties of the elements are similar when moving vertically down a column in the table, but differ when moving horizontally along the rows. The periodic table provides an extremely useful framework to classify, systematize and compare all the many different forms of chemistry behavior. The table has found wide application in physics, biology, engineering, and industry. The current standard table contains 117 confirmed elements as of October 16, 2006.