If I were an element…
Instructions:
Think about this:
If I were an element I’d like to be Gold
Search the net for “periodic table” and select TWO elements – one metal and one non-metal. You might like the names or they might sound interesting to you.
Research each element (there are some links here to help get you started) and find the information to complete the report below...
NOTE: Write your report in full sentences – not notes.
(1) METAL ELEMENT
If I were a metal element I’d like to be Gold and my symbol is AU
My atomic number is 79 which means I have 79 protons in my nucleus and 79 electrons around my nucleus.
My physical properties:
At room temperature (20C) I will be a (solid/liquid.gas)
My melting point (the temperature when I turn from solid to liquid) is 1064.18°C
My boiling point (the temperature when I change from liquid to gas) is 2856°C
I was first discovered by James W. Marshall in Coloma, California on January 24, 1848
I am found in nature as (eg name of rock which contains me)
Much of the gold mined is actually from gold ore rather then actual Gold specimens. The ore is often brown, iron-stained rock or massive white Quartz, and usually contains only minute traces of gold.
My chemical properties:
Write a paragraph (3 or 4 sentences) saying how your element reacts with other elements or compounds. (Write in full sentences – not notes)
Gold is unaffected by air, water, alkalis and all acids except aqua regia (a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid) which can dissolve gold. Gold does react with halogens. Unusually for a metal, gold can also form compounds(aurides) in which its oxidation number is negative (-1).
My uses to humans are: (Write in full sentences – not notes)
Gold’s uses to humans is to admire and use, because its malleable, conducts electricity, dosen’t tarnish and alloys well with other metals.
Some interesting things about me are: (Write in full sentences – not notes)
There is actually gold in our blood, around 0.2 milligrams of gold in our blood.
(2) Non-metal ELEMENT
If I were a non-metal element I’d like to be helium and my symbol is He
My atomic number is 2 which means I have 2 protons in my nucleus and 2 electrons around my nucleus.
My physical properties:
At room temperature (20C) I will be a (solid/liquid/gas)
My melting point (the temperature when I turn from solid to liquid) is -272.2°C
My boiling point (the temperature when I change from liquid to gas) is -268.93°C
I was first discovered by (give person, country and date)
The first evidence of helium was observed on August 18, 1868, as a bright yellow line with a wavelength of 587.49 nanometers in the spectrum of the chromosphere of the Sun. The line was detected by French astronomer Jules Janssen during a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India.
I am found in nature as (eg name of rock which contains me)
People dig it out of the ground.
My chemical properties:
Write a paragraph (3 or 4 sentences) saying how your element reacts with other elements or compounds. (Write in full sentences – not notes)
Helium has many unique properties: low boiling point, low density, low solubility, high thermal conductivity and inertness, so it is use for any application which can exploit these properties. Helium was the first gas used for filling balloons and dirigibles.
My uses to humans are: (Write 2 full sentences – not notes)
Helium is used as a cooling medium for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and the superconducting magnets in MRI scanners and NMR spectrometers. It is also used to keep satellite instruments cool and was used to cool the liquid oxygen and hydrogen that powered the Apollo space vehicles.
Some interesting things about me are: (Write 2 full sentences – not notes)
If you inhale me, you voice will be very high. If you breathe a lot. Then it will go away, and your voice will be normal.
