MAGNESIUM: THE ULTIMATE ELEMENT!

       Magnesium is the 12^th element on the Periodic Table. It’s classified as an Alkaline Earth Metal. It has luster, it’s a good conductor, it’s ductile and malleable. Joseph Black discovered it in 1755. He discovered it in England. Then in 1808, Sir Humphrey Davy isolated it for the first time. This is the history of Magnesium, but what makes it the ultimate element? To start, it’s the fourth most abundant element in the human body. It can also promote proper bone formation and maintenance of muscle function. It also helps by releasing energy in muscle storage, manufacturing proteins, maintaining normal muscle and nerve function, regulating body temperature, and promoting a proper absorption of Calcium. So without Magnesium, Calcium might not be able to function properly in the human body. In addition to helping out Calcium, Magnesium also gives Aluminum a huge boost. It makes Aluminum easier to roll and weld. It also combines with Aluminum to make airplanes, missiles, rockets, cameras, horseshoes, baseball catchers’ mitts and snowshoes. It’s also the lightest metal used to build things. Magnesium’s contributions don’t stop there. It also burns white light used in photographic flash bulbs and flares. So what happens if you decide to go without Magnesium? A Magnesium deficiency in your body can lead to backaches, headaches, muscle spasms, constipation, abnormal health rhythms, insomnia, anxiety, and a tingling feeling in arms and legs. Having Magnesium in our lives is a necessity. It truly is the ultimate element! 

Silicon

The Greatness of Silicon

In 1824, what is now known as silicon which is from the Latin word “silex” was discovered by a Swedish chemist named Jacob Berzelius. By heating up chips of potassium in a silica container and then carefully washing away the residual by-products is how he discovered this element. Silicon is a metalloid with a silver complexion color. It is in the solid state and has an atomic weight 28.0855. One of the major ingredients in sand is silicon which is readily available all over the earth.

 Silicon is one of the most used elements on the periodic table. They are used in many different things around the world in many different places. Silicon is used in things such as lasers, electronic devices, and is an ingredient of steel. They are also used to produce transistors, solar cells, rectifiers, and other important solid-state electronic devices. Semi metallic is the classification of silicon and is found in many different things such as the sun, stars, and natural gases. The earth’s crust is made up of 25% of silicon making it the second most abundant element after oxygen.  

Silicon is the most important element in the world! It is the true life element. Forget all about oxygen. If we never found silicon, then all other discoveries we have made would not have been. Today technology would not be where it is at without this special element.  This project would have been impossible to do because wouldn’t be able to find all of the research we needed without computers. In order to have computers you need silicon in it with all of the electronic devices, chips, and hard drive. It’s an important element that all people use and need around the world to do things that we weren’t able to do before.

      http://web1.caryacademy.org/facultywebs/gray_rushin/StudentProjects/ElementWebSites/silicon/WhereFound.htm

http://www.carondelet.pvt.k12.ca.us/Family/Science/GroupIVA/silicon.htm www.chemicool.com/elements/silicon.htmlCached - Similar

Chlorine

Chlorine

      Who is chlorine? Chlorine is a non metal and identified as atomic number 17. It does not conduct electricity very well or heat, it is not full of luster and it is very brittle. Chlorine is a greenish yellow gas. (Kind of ugly right?) Chlorine appears to be ugly and useless but in all reality it is one of the most important elements. Chlorine is a part of the halogen group, which is an elite group of the nonmetals. It is the second lightest halogen after fluorine. Chloride is the third highest electronegative element of all the elements!
     Chlorine was first produced in 1774 in Sweden by Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Scheele was a German- Swedish pharmaceutical chemist. Isaac Asimov called him "hard-luck Scheele" because he made a number of chemical discoveries in his lifetime sooner than others who are generally given the credit. Scheele collected the gas released by the reaction of pyrolusite (manganese dioxide) and spiritus salis (an alchemical term meaning spirit/breath of salt.) Spiritus salis are also known as hydrochloric acid. The new gas had, according to what Scheele stated, “A very perceptible suffocating smell, which was most oppressive to the lungs… and gives the water a slightly acidic taste… the air in it acquires a yellow color…
     Chlorine doesn't occur naturally by itself in nature. Most commonly it takes the form of the chloride ion as part of a salt that's either found in the earth, or dissolved in seawater. It is rarely necessary to make chlorine in the laboratory as it is readily available Chlorine is found largely in seawater where it exists as sodium chloride. It is recovered as a reactive, corrosive, pale green chlorine gas from brine (a solution of sodium chloride in water) by electrolysis. Electrolysis of molten salt, NaCl, also succeeds, in which case the other product is sodium metal rather than sodium hydroxide. Na+ + Cl- + H2O → Na+ + 1/2Cl2 + 1/2H2 + OH- In the laboratory under carefully controlled conditions, chlorine can be made by the action of an oxidizing agent such as manganese dioxide, MnO2, upon concentrated hydrochloric acid - the same reaction used by Scheele in 1774 when discovering chlorine. MnO2 + 4HCl → MnCl2 + Cl2 + 2H2O
     Chlorine has many different uses. For example it is a water purifier. Without Chlorine we wouldn't be able to drink clean and pure water. Chlorine helps fight against waterborne microbiological infections. These infections are highly dangerous. Every year 5 million people die of these infections even with Chlorine. So just imagine the world without Chlorine. No water would be completely safe to drink. We need a lot of water to survive so without Chlorine it would be very difficult to survive for very long. Chlorine is also used in 2 million jobs in Europe. 85% of medicines are made using Chlorine chemistry. Also it is used in 96% crop protection used by farmers.

      I bet many of you LOVE to be involved sports including swimming, soccer, golf, tennis and surfing. Well I know you didn't know that chlorine plays a part in all of those sports. It used to make golf bags, surfboards, tennis rackets and wet suits. Good luck playing your favorite sports without chlorine. Hospitals and medicine rely on chlorine for many different purposes as well. Hospitals use chlorine to keep it clean and disinfected. It can also prevent bacterial contamination of patient’s burns and wounds. Chlorine disinfects many surfaces in the hospital too keeping it safe. It can clean the air in hospitals as well preventing Legionnaire’s disease which can lives in the vents of hospitals. Many different medicines rely on chlorine to be produced. Some of these include Clometacin analgesic (pain killer), Clonazepam anticonvulsant (prevents convulsions of the heart), and Clobutinol antitussive (suppresses coughing).

     Everyone and their cousin know about Chlorine. If you own a pool or simply like to drink clean water you have heard about Chlorine. What would this world be like without Chlorine? Dirty drinking water and pools would have algae up the wazoo! Think of all the diseases, you think getting a cold is bad, picture getting a life threatening disease from drinking the water in your kitchen sink. Chlorine has been proven to be a lifesaver! Where would we be without it? A world where Chlorine does not exist is a world not worth living in.

ALUMINUM(:

 

 

Aluminum is ALmazing!

Just kidding, but it’s a pretty significant element and by the time you read this you won’t want to vote it off any time.

Aluminum is a very important metal which is found in the earth’s crust.  It makes up approximately 8.1 % of the earth’s crust. It was discovered by an Danish chemist Hans Christian Oersted in 1825. Aluminum is a metal, metals are found in solid form at room temperature  (except mercury). Metals have a shiny surface, a high melting point, and high densities. Metals are known for large atomic radii with low ionization energy and low electro negativity due to the fact that the valence electrons can be removed easily.

Other properties include:

·         Usually, high deformation

·         Malleable

·         Ductile

·         Thermal conductors

·         Electrical conductors

 Aluminum is extremely useful. It is found in all of the following:

1. Eyeglass frames
2. Bicycle
3. Foil
4. Antenna
5. Some car parts
6. Cans
7. Trays
8. TV Dinners
9. Wiring
10. Ladles, and other utensils
11. Screen doors and window
12. In computers as heat sinks
13. In computer housings as lightweight construction material.
14. Additive in paint
15. In watches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why shouldn’t you vote aluminum off? Well, in addition to being the most important metal on the table, it is essential to everyday objects. Do you want to drive a car when you’re 16?  Cars are continually becoming more advanced and without the element Aluminum, we wouldn’t be able to produce cars.  Do you want to say goodbye to eyeglasses, bicycles, vaccines, or canned foods? We didn’t think so.

We Need Sulfur!

We Need Sulfur!

Sulfur is a non-metal.  It’s a soft bright yellow solid at room temperature.  Sulfur was discovered in 2000 B.C., its melting point is at 239.4 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is used as a food source for bacteria, commonly used as food preservatives.  Sulfur is used in part of the process for manufacturing rubber.  Boiling point is 832.28 degrees Fahrenheit. Sulfur is the 10^th most abundant element in the universe. This element is yellow and extremely combustible.  Used in prescription drugs, and insecticides.    Sulfur was even in the bible, it was called brimstone at that time.  It has many uses, stay tuned to find out why we should keep this element around.

Sulfur has been used in the past in weapons such as, Greek fire (modern day flamethrower) and in gunpowder.  Sulfur also has many uses in medicine, there is sulfur soap, this helps relieve joint and skin pain.  Sulfur is insoluble in water.  Its name comes from the Greek word “sulfra” which means yellow.  This was used by priests before the birth of Christ.  Sulfur is an essential component in gunpowder, matches, and the failed Calvin Klein fragrance, Eggstacy.  The Chinese discovered the element in the 6^th century B.C. but did not isolate it until the 3^rd century.  There are more than 12 million tons consumed annually.  Sulfur dioxide is used as a bleaching agent, disinfectant, and a refrigerant.  Sulfuric Acid is used in car batteries and fertilizer.  Sulfur and tarry compounds are removed from gasoline with the use of sulfuric acid.  Sulfur is also used to manufacture TNT in the explosives industry.  Antoine Lavoisier convinced the world that sulfur was an element in 1777.  Sulfur is important to all living organisms, for uses such as, it can serve as food for chemoautrophic organisms, and some bacteria use sulfur as an electron acceptor, and vitamin B₁ and is essential for your peripheral nervous system.  Sulfur is commonly found around volcanic areas, underground salt deposits and in Sicily, Texas, and Louisiana.

NITROGEN WILL SURVIVE!(:

NITROGEN BABY!

NITROGEN MAY BE NUMBER 7 ON THE PERIODIC TABLE BUT IT ITS NUMBER ONE IN HEARTS! <3 <3 (:
We tried to make a chemistry joke but there was no reaction...anyways…
     A long long time ago, in 1772, a Scottish physician named Daniel Rutherford discovered the amazing element we know as nitrogen. Nitrogen is a nonmetal, does not have metallic properties. They are found in nature as gases or weak, brittle solids.But nitrogen is just so great it could even be a liquid! Nitrogen does not have a color or odor. Its atomic number is seven and has a valence of 3 or 5. Nitrogen is found in nature. It is very easy to find, just another reason why it should be the last element standing. Why pick nitrogen to be the last element to survive? We would not have an Earth without nitrogen. Nitrogen makes up 78.1% of the Earth’s atmosphere, sorry oxygen.....Nitrogen was named by Antoine Laurent Lavoisier. It was originally named azote which means “without life.” You need it to survive... just let that sink in. Nitrogen will be the last one standing.. it will survive... HEY HEY ! Our friend Ellen , even knows how great nitrogen is. Here is a video of Ellen with liquid nitrogen. Obviously if Ellen showed it on her show it is important!

Nitrogen will survive but without it you wont. Dont be dumb, nitrogen is the one you need. It makes up 3/4 of the Earth's atmosphere. Do you like to see in the dark? Without nitrogen you would not be able to have lightbulbs. Do you like to have paintball fights with friends... well without nitrogen you can kiss that goodbye. You wouldnt want to have a major surgery with all the pain, nitrogen is also used as a anesthetic, otherwise known as laughing gas. #NITROGENSWAG.

 

Potassium: Morgan W, Kim G, Austin S

You may not know it, but Potassium(K) is used in many ways in many parts of our lives. Without it, we would not be alive to write this!!! It plays a vital role in the normal functions of the body, particularly the cell. It's required in our nerves to make us move! Without it, we cannot move. We'd be limp. It also regulates water and acid base to balance blood and tissue. It prevents heart attacks and strokes, leaving more people to live!

Also, like humans, plants need Potassium as well. Potassium is an essential nutrient that helps control the functioning of the stomata present in plant cells. Without the element, the plant wouldn't be able to live. And without plants, there would be no Oxygen for us to breathe! Another reason why humans need Potassium.

Without this substance, we wouldn't have soap, batteries, or explosives. Imagine not having soap to clean yourself, you would be a very dirty person. YUCK! People would also have to go up to the T.V. to turn the channel, we wouldn't have batteries for the remote. So much work... On AMERICA'S BIRTHDAY, we wouldn't have fireworks or matches to light them. Fireworks are fun, right? Potassium is needed for them to explode!  If there was no Potassium, we would have a boring 4th of July. So your life would be incomplete without Potassium. Even though alcohol is frowned upon, people still love it! Potassium is used to preserve beer and wine, without it, it can't allow the beverage to age and taste good. (not that we would know). (;

In the year 1807, a righteous, smart man named Sir Humphrey Davy, who is from England, discovered this wonderful element. It's a silvery white Alkali Metal that is solid at room temperature. Some properties of Alkali Metals are low electronegativities, low ionization energies, and having a lower density than other metals. Potassium's atomic number is 19 and it's atomic weight is 39.1(rounded to the nearest tenth). It is the seventh most abundant element in the Earth's crust, and sixth most abundant in the ocean. Due to its high reactivity, it's not found in nature, the way to obtain this fantastic element is the process of electrolysis. Electrolysis is the passage of a direct current through a solution that contains ions. But be careful, it's one of the most reactive metals you will ever encounter!

For your enjoyment, here's a merry and informative song on Potassium:

Our information was collected from these sites: Source #1; Source #2; Source #3; Source #4; Source #5; Source #6

Oxygen

After you read this, you’ll know why you can’t spell periodic table without ‘O’. Oxygen is a nonmetal. It is highly reactive and often found in the form of a gas. It’s tasteless, odorless, and colorless. However, it is a vital resource of living organisms and is a necessary part of cellular respiration in plants. It is a diatomic element, meaning that when they are not part of a compound, two oxygens bond together.

                Oxygen is basically the source of sustaining life. We breathe in oxygen every moment of our lives. It fuels our bodies with the energy to function. Oxygen is also a part of water which is necessary for life and is found in our bodies and covers our planet. Besides being found in water, oxygen is also found in sugars, which are also vital for our bodies. (Also, sugar makes ice cream taste good.)

                Oxygen was first discovered in 1772 by French scientist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. He called it ‘fire air’. Two years later, it was discovered by Englishman Joseph Priestley, who published his findings 3 years before Scheele did. Oxygen first got its name and was recognized as an element by Antoine Lavoisier in 1775.

                Oxygen is found everywhere. It’s in our lungs, in the air we breathe, in the water we drink, and in the sugar in ice cream.  It’s also in our atmosphere. You don’t need to mine for oxygen, because it’s all around you. It’s as easy as that.

                Why do we need oxygen? It is in everything we do; it’s in air, sugars, our atmosphere, and many other things. Without oxygen in our daily life we wouldn’t even exist. You couldn’t breathe, which is how we function. We need the oxygen in our atmosphere because that is where our breathing air is produced, and our ozone protects us from over-radiation from the sun. If you haven’t noticed yet there is no life on any other planet except Earth because there is no oxygen in their atmospheres. Still don’t think oxygen is important? We dare you to try to hold your breath and reread this whole post.

Sodium

Sodium chloride, commonly found on your kitchen table and more often referred to as “salt” contains an element necessary for life- sodium.  Sodium, isolated by Sir Humphry Davy in 1807, is a silver-white metal that is very important in our daily lives.  Sodium is soft, light, malleable, and metallic.

Sodium comes from the Latin root word "soda".  It is not found alone in nature due to its reactivity but is the 6^th most abundant element in earth’s crust.  It is found in the sun, stars, solar spectrum, and sea water. The most beautiful fish in the world survive on SALT water.  Salt that contain SODIUM!

For all you girls out there, or men with thining hair, sea salt spray is excellent for giving your hair a luscious texture.  And when you have a painful, blistering canker sore, the best thing to do is swish some salt water in your mouth to ease the pain and regain your health.  THANK YOU SODIUM!

Sodium also plays a major role in the human body.  It carries electrolytes, helps with fluid distribution, and regulates blood pressure.  Not only is it vital for humans, it also transfers nutrients and removes waste from cells in dogs.  And you love your dog, don't you?

It makes life easier for us by preserving food and acting as an antacid after you’ve finished your Chinese take-out. 

In addition to it being a necessity, sodium is a luxury.  In a compound, it melts ice so the act of walking to your car isn’t life threatening. 

But most importantly, sodium makes food taste better!  How could you survive without your precious salty Ramen Noodles?  Could you survive without sodium? ..Na..

Calcium!

As little as we hear anything about calcium (atomic number 20 and atomic symbol Ca), it is very important in our lives.  How is this important may you ask? For starters, it can help to combat cancer. Those who have a higher intake of calcium have a lower risk of getting colorectal cancer, rectal cancer, and breast cancer. Calcium bonds with acids to form what are known as calcium soaps. Calcium soaps help to protect the lining of the stomach which is helpful for preventing colorectal cancer. Also, calcium can prevent osteoporosis by strengthening your bones.  Also, calcium will keep you slim and trim! As you can see, calcium has many benefits.

                Calcium is a metal (more specifically an alkaline-earth metal). It was found in 1808 in England. This metal was found by Sir Humphrey Davy. Davy was considered one of Britain’s leading scientists. He was knighted in 1812. He invented the field of electrochemistry. He had found calcium as well as a few other elements.

                Calcium is found in many foods we eat every day (that's why it's called calcYUM!). These foods include: milk, yogurt, cheese, broccoli, fish, and most grains, such as cereal and bread.  It is in most heart healthy foods. This can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease if you take the proper amount. Who knew?