Insert Title Here Aluminium Symbol: Interesting Facts: • It is the second most malleable (easily shaped) metal. • It is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust (8.1%) but is usually found combined with other elements in minerals such as bauxite and cryolite. Al Uses: Melting Point: 660°C Boiling Point: 2519°C • Used to make aluminium foil and cans. • Used in some pans and kitchen utensils. • Used as a building material in the construction of aeroplanes, cars and bike frames. Insert Title Here Carbon Symbol: Interesting Facts: • Carbon is found naturally as diamond, graphite and anthracite (a type of coal). Diamond is the hardest known material. • Carbon is essential for life and makes up 18.5% of the human body. • Living things get almost all of their carbon from carbon dioxide. C Melting Point: Boiling Point: 3825°C Uses: 3825°C • Forms hydrocarbons, which are used as fuels. • Used for smelting, to extract metals from their ores. • Graphite is used in pencils. • Carbon fibre is used to make tennis rackets, skis and fishing rods. • Carbon nanotubes are used for electronics. Insert Title Here Chlorine Symbol: Interesting Facts: • Chlorine is a toxic gas, which was used as a chemical weapon in the First World War. • In the past it was used to make the anaesthetic chloroform. We now know that chloroform can cause liver damage, so its use is strictly regulated. • The chloride ion is present in cell fluid and in blood. Cl Melting Point: Boiling Point: -101.5°C -34°C Uses: • Added to swimming pools and drinking water to kill bacteria. • Used to make PVC, for wiring insulation, window frames, water pipes and vinyl flooring. • Used in the production of 85% of medicines. Insert Title Here Copper Symbol: Interesting Facts: Cu Melting Point: 1085°C • The bronze age gets its name from the discovery that copper could be hardened with a small amount of tin to make bronze. • Adults need around 1.2mg of copper a day for enzymes to work, however excess copper is toxic. • Some arthropods (crabs, lobsters, spiders, scorpions, centipedes) and molluscs (slugs, snails, octopus, squid, shellfish) use copper instead of iron to transport oxygen around their bodies. This causes them to have blue blood. Uses: Boiling Point: 2560°C • Used to make coins and electrical wires. • Copper fungicides are used to protect crops from fungal diseases. • Copper compounds are used in chemical tests for sugars. Insert Title Here Fluorine Symbol: Interesting Facts: • It is the most reactive of all the elements. • The first time it was produced commercially was for the atom bomb in the Second World War. • It used to be found in chemicals called CFCs in aerosols and refrigerators. However, the CFCs damaged the Earth’s ozone layer so are now banned. F Melting Point: Boiling Point: -220°C Uses: -188°C • Added to toothpaste to prevent cavities in teeth. In some areas, it is also added to drinking water for the same reason. • It is one of the elements used in non-stick coating for pans. • It is one of the elements used to make waterproof shoes and clothing. Insert Title Here Gold Symbol: Interesting Facts: • Gold is one of the few metals to be found in its pure form in nature. Most gold is mined in South Africa and Russia (around 1500 tonnes a year). Au Melting Point: • Seawater contains 4g of gold in every 1 million tonnes of water. There are over 1 trillion tonnes of water in the ocean, so there is a huge amount of gold. However, we have not yet found a way to extract it. 1064°C Uses: • Used to make jewellery and coins. Boiling Point: 2836°C • Used in electronics (thin gold wires in computer chips and as a protective layer for copper components). • Gold leaf is used in art and architecture. Insert Title Here Helium Symbol: Interesting Facts: • Helium gets its name from Helios, the Greek word for the Sun, because it was detected in the Sun many years before it was found on Earth. He • Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe. It is present in all stars. Uses: Melting Point: -272°C Boiling Point: -269°C • Used to fill decorative balloons, weather balloons and airships. • Used to cool the magnets in MRI scanners, the Large Hadron Collider and the fuel that powered the Apollo space vehicles. • Provides a protective atmosphere for arc welding. • Helium-neon lasers are used to scan barcodes in supermarkets. Insert Title Here Hydrogen Symbol: Interesting Facts: H Melting Point: -259°C • Hydrogen is essential for life. It is present in water and almost all the molecules in living things. • It is the most abundant element in the universe. The planet Jupiter is composed mostly of hydrogen. • Hydrogen has the lowest density of all gases, so it used to be used to fill balloons and airships. However, hydrogen reacts violently with oxygen to form water. In 1937, the Hindenburg airship was destroyed by the fire caused by this reaction, so hydrogen is no longer used for this purpose. Uses: Boiling Point: -253°C • Used as a pollution-free fuel in hydrogen-powered cars and buses. • Used to make ammonia for use in fertilisers. • Used in the manufacture of silicone chips. • Hydrogenation of fats is used in the process of making margarine. Insert Title Here Iron Symbol: Interesting Facts: • Iron is found in haemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A lack of iron in the diet can lead to anaemia. • The core of the Earth is thought to be mostly composed of iron, with some nickel and sulfur. Fe Uses: Melting Point: 1538°C Boiling Point: 2861°C • Iron is used to make around 1.3 billion tonnes of steel a year. This is used for: cutting tools, bike chains, electricity pylons, bridges, cutlery, surgical instruments, jewellery and much more. • Iron is used to reinforce concrete and girders in buildings. • Used as a catalyst in the production of ammonia for fertilisers. Insert Title Here Photo courtesy of Tavo Romann(@ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mercury_escaped.jpg) - granted under creative commons license - attribution Mercury Symbol: Interesting Facts: • Mercury used to be used for thermometers, batteries, fluorescent lights, dental fillings and the manufacture of sodium hydroxide. However, it is a very toxic element so many of these uses have been stopped. • Every mouthful of food we eat contains a small amount of mercury. We eat about 0.3g of mercury in our lifetime! Hg Melting Point: Boiling Point: -39°C 357°C Uses: • Used as a catalyst for some chemical reactions. • Found in mercuric sulfide, a bright-red paint pigment, which is only used with great care because of its toxicity. Photo courtesy of Mark Heird(@https://www.flickr.com/ photos/chicagobart/32851393406) - granted under creative commons license - attribution Nitrogen Symbol: Interesting Facts: • Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air. • Nitrogen is needed to make DNA and amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). • Plants obtain nitrogen from the soil and animals obtain nitrogen by eating other organisms. Microorganisms return nitrogen back to the soil, either straight from the atmosphere or by breaking down molecules in dead plants and animals. This process is called the nitrogen cycle. N Melting Point: -210°C Uses: Boiling Point: -196°C • Used to make fertilisers, nitric acid, nylon, dyes and explosives. • Liquid nitrogen is a refrigerant used to store sperm, eggs and other cells. • Used to provide an unreactive atmosphere in the process of food preservation and the production of some circuit components. Oxygen Symbol: Interesting Facts: • Oxygen makes up 21% of the atmosphere. • Oxygen has not always been abundant in Earth’s atmosphere; it was first produced by algae 2.7 billion years ago. • Living things use oxygen for respiration. Life can exist in rivers, lakes and oceans because oxygen is soluble in water. O Melting Point: Boiling Point: -219°C -183°C Uses: • Oxygen is the gas we need from the air we breathe in. It is used for respiration to release energy from our food. Oxygen tanks are used by astronauts and underwater divers to allow them to breathe. • Used to make antifreeze. • Used for welding and cutting metals. • Important in the manufacture of steel and chemicals such as nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Insert Title Here Potassium Symbol: Interesting Facts: • Potassium is essential to life; it is found in all cells. Sardines, nuts, raisins, chocolate and potatoes contain a lot of potassium. • Mining extracts about 35 million tonnes of potassium a year. It is mostly used to produce fertilisers that replace the potassium in the soil that crops use up. K Melting Point: Boiling Point: 63.5°C 759°C Uses: • Used to make fertilisers to help the growth of plants. • Used in the manufacture of glass, washing powder and liquid soap. • Potassium chloride is used in saline drips for medical use. Insert Title Here Silver Symbol: Interesting Facts: • Silver is the best reflector of visible light that is known, which is why it is used in mirrors. • It has antibacterial properties and is used in some clothing to prevent bacteria from digesting sweat and producing unpleasant smells. Ag Uses: Melting Point: 962°C Boiling Point: 2162°C • Used to make jewellery, tableware and mirrors. • It is mixed with other elements to make an alloy used in tooth fillings. • Found in batteries. • Used for producing high-quality photographs. • Used to make touchscreen gloves. Insert Title Here Sodium Symbol: Interesting Facts: • We need to eat about 3g of sodium per day to replace what is lost in urine and sweat. However, the average person eats 10g. Extra sodium in the diet may contribute to high blood pressure. • Sodium makes up 2.6% of the Earth’s crust, but it is very reactive so is never found naturally in its pure form. • Salt beds made mostly of sodium chloride are found where ancient seas have evaporated. Na Melting Point: 98°C Uses: Boiling Point: 883°C • Sodium is used a heat exchanger in some nuclear reactors. • Found in sodium chloride, which is added to food and used to de-ice roads in the winter. • Found in sodium carbonate, which is used in washing powder.
