Sodium

Sodium

Symbol: Na 

Atomic Number: 11 

Atomic Weight: 22.99 

Classification: Alkali metal 

Phase at Room Temperature: Solid

 Density: 0.968 grams per cm cubed

 Melting Point: 97.72 ° C, 207.9 ° F

 Boiling Point: 883 ° C, 1621 ° F 

Discovered by : Sir Humphry Davy in 1807 

Sodium is an alkali metal located in the first group or column of the periodic table. The sodium atom has 11 electrons and 11 protons with one valence electron in the outer shell. 

Characteristics and Properties 

Sodium in its pure form is very reactive. It is a very soft metal that can be easily cut with a knife. It is silvery-white in color and burns with a yellow flame. Sodium will float on water, but it will also react violently when coming into contact with water. When sodium reacts with water it produces sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Sodium is most famous for its many useful compounds such as table salt (NaCl), sodium nitrate (Na2CO3), and baking soda (NaHCO3). Many of the compounds that sodium forms are water-soluble, meaning they dissolve in water. 

Where is sodium found on Earth? Sodium is the sixth most abundant element on Earth. It is never found in its pure form because it is so reactive. It is only found in compounds such as sodium chloride (NaCL) or table salt. Sodium chloride is found in ocean water (salt water), salt lakes, and underground deposits. Pure sodium can be recovered from sodium chloride through electrolysis.

 How is sodium used today? Sodium is primarily used in the form of compounds with other elements. The average person uses sodium every day in the form of table salt in their food. Table salt is the compound sodium chloride (NaCl). Table salt is needed for animals to survive, but most people use it for adding flavor to their food. Another popular use of sodium is in baking soda which is the chemical compound sodium bicarbonate. Baking soda is used as a leavening agent in cooking foods like pancakes, cakes, and breads. A lot of soaps are forms of sodium salts. Sodium hydroxide is a key ingredient when making soaps. Other applications include de-icing, medicine, organic chemistry, street lights, and cooling nuclear reactors.

 How was it discovered? Sodium was discovered by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy in 1807. He isolated sodium by applying electrolysis to caustic soda. 

Where did sodium get its name? Sodium gets its name from the English word soda. This is because Sir Humphry Davy used caustic soda when isolating the element. The symbol Na comes from the Latin word natrium. 

Isotopes Only one of the 20 known isotopes of sodium is stable, sodium-23. 

Interesting Facts about Sodium Sir Humphry Davy discovered sodium only a few days after he discovered potassium. Sodium comprises around 2.6% of the Earth's crust. It helps to maintain the proper fluid balance in the body's cells and also helps us to digest our food. Our bodies lose sodium when we sweat. However, most people eat far more sodium than their bodies actually need. If the body runs low on sodium, it can cause the muscles to cramp. Sodium is considered non-toxic, but too much of it can cause high blood pressure.

Potassium

 Potassium 

Symbol: K

Atomic Number: 19 

Atomic Weight: 39.0983 

Classification: Alkali metal 

Phase at Room Temperature: Solid 

Density: 0.86 grams per cm cubed 

Melting Point: 63.38°C, 146.08°F 

Boiling Point: 759°C, 1398°F 

Discovered by: Sir Humphry Davy in 1807 

Potassium is the fourth element in the first column of the periodic table. It is classified as an alkali metal. Potassium atoms have 19 electrons and 19 protons with one valence electron in the outer shell. Potassium is considered chemically similar to sodium, the alkali metal above it on the periodic table.

 Characteristics and Properties

 Under standard conditions potassium is a soft silvery-white metal. It is so soft that it can be easily cut with a knife. When cut, the exposed metal tarnishes quickly and forms a dull oxide coating. Potassium has a very low melting point such that even a candle can cause it to melt. When it burns, it produces a pale purple colored flame. Potassium also has a very low density and is the second least dense metal after lithium. It is so light that it can float in water. Chemically, potassium is a very active metal. It reacts violently when coming into contact with water, producing heat and hydrogen gas. It also reacts with many other elements and substances such as oxygen, acids, sulfur, fluorine, and nitrogen. 

Where is potassium found on Earth?

 Because potassium reacts so readily with water, it is not found in its elemental form in nature. Instead it is found in various minerals such as sylvite, carnallite, langbeinite, and kainite. Most minerals that contain potassium are referred to as potash. Making up about 2.1% of the weight of the Earth's crust, potassium is the eighth most abundant element in the crust. It can also be found in ocean water where it is also about the eighth most abundant element. 

How is potassium used today? The largest use of potassium is potassium chloride (KCl) which is used to make fertilizers. This is because potassium is important for plant growth. Industrial applications for potassium include soaps, detergents, gold mining, dyes, glass production, gunpowder, and batteries. Potassium also plays a vital role in our bodies. It is used in muscle contraction, fluid and pH balance, bone health, and helps to prevent kidney stones. It is about the eighth most abundant element in the human body by weight. 

How was it discovered? Potassium was first isolated by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy in 1807. He used electricity to separate the element from the salt potash. 

Where did potassiu m get its name?Potassium gets its name from the salt potash from which potassium was first isolated. The K symbol for the element comes from the Latin word "kalium", which means potash. 

Isotopes There are three isotopes of potassium that occur naturally: K-39, 40, and 41. The majority (93%) of potassium found in nature is K-39. 

Interesting Facts about Potassium Potassium chloride (KCl) is sometimes used as a substitute for table salt. The USDA recommends that adults consume 4.7 grams of potassium each day. A small amount of potassium can taste sweet. A higher concentration can taste bitter or salty. Potassium bicarbonate is the chemical name for baking soda. It is used in fire extinguishers, baking powders, and antacids. Some good sources of potassium in our diet include bananas, avocados, nuts, chocolate, parsley, and potatoes.

Types of metals

 

 Alkali Metals 

The alkali metals are a group of elements in the periodic table. They are all in the first column of the periodic table. The only element in the first column that is not usually considered an alkali metal is hydrogen. Hydrogen and the alkali metals make up the group 1 elements of the periodic table.

 What elements are alkali metals? 

The elements of the alkali metals include lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium. Click the links or see below for more details on each.

 What are the similar properties of alkali metals?

 Alkali metals share many similar properties including: 

They are shiny, soft, metals. They are very reactive. 

They all have one valence electron in the outermost shell which they seek to lose in order to have a full outer shell. This is what makes them so reactive.

They are soft enough to be cut with a knife. 

When exposed to air, they tarnish due to oxidation. 

They are not found in nature as a free element, but generally as salts. 

They react when coming into contact with water. Some of them will even explode when they come into contact with water.

They are malleable, ductile, and good conductors of electricity and heat.

They have a low density when compared to other metals. 

Order of Abundance 

The most abundant of the alkali metals on Earth is sodium. Here is the list in order: Sodium, Potassium, Lithium, Rubidium, Cesium, Francium.

 Interesting Facts about Alkali Metals 

Because they are so reactive with air and water, they are generally stored in oil.

 Cesium and rubidium are used to make atomic clocks.

 Cesium clocks are considered the most accurate of all clocks. Sodium and potassium both play an important role in biological life on Earth. We cannot live without them.

 Sometimes cesium is also spelled "caesium." 

They like to form salts by combining with halogens. 

The name "alkali" is derived from the Arabic word for "ashes." 

Different alkali metals burn with different colored flames including sodium (orange yellow), lithium (red), potassium (lilac), rubidium (red), and cesium (blue or violet).

 All alkali metals have odd atomic numbers. 

They are considered to be more similar to each other than any other group in the periodic table. 

The compound ammonium has very similar properties to the heavier alkali metals. 

When moving down the periodic table, each alkali metal has an increasing atomic radius as well as increasing reactivity.

How do crystals work?

 

Сrystals

What are crystals? 

Crystals are a special kind of solid material where the molecules fit together in a repeating pattern. This pattern causes the material to form all sorts of unique shapes.

How do they form? 

The process of crystal forming is called crystallization. Crystals often form in nature when liquids cool and start to harden. Certain molecules in the liquid gather together as they attempt to become stable. They do this in a uniform and repeating pattern that forms the crystal. In nature, crystals can form when liquid rock, called magma, cools. If it cools slowly, then crystals may form. Many valuable crystals such as diamonds, rubies, and emeralds form this way. Another way crystals form is when water evaporates from a mixture. Salt crystals often form as salt water evaporates.

What unique properties do crystals have? 

Crystals can have very flat surfaces called facets. They can form geometric shapes such as triangles, rectangles, and squares. The shapes are a direct result of the type of molecules and atoms that make up the crystal. Smaller crystals and larger crystals that were formed of the same molecules and in the same method should have similar shapes. There are seven basic crystal shapes, also called lattices. They are Cubic, Trigonal, Triclinic, Orthorhombic, Hexagonal, Tetragonal, and Monoclinic.

Interesting Types of Crystals 

Snowflakes are ice crystals that are formed high in the clouds when water freezes. They always have six sides or arms, but every one of them is unique.

Timing crystals

When an electric current is sent through some crystals they vibrate at a very precise frequency. Quartz crystals are used in watches and other electronics to keep an accurate time.

Quartz is a common mineral and crystal. It is one of the hardest common minerals. The gemstone amethyst is a purple type of quartz. 

Diamonds are one of the most valuable minerals on Earth. Not only for jewelry, but diamond is also the hardest substance on earth and is used for special tools such as diamond saws. Diamond is a form of the element carbon. 

Fun facts About Crystals 

- Crystallography is the science of studying crystals and how they form. 

- Some crystals, like diamonds, are really just one giant molecule made from lots of atoms of a single element. 

- A lot of computer screens use liquid crystals for their display. 

- They are very popular in jewelry because they can sparkle and come in many different colors. 

- Some living organisms are able to produce crystals.

 

ACID RAIN

Acid rain is made up of water droplets that are unusually acidic because of atmospheric pollution, most notably the excessive amounts of sulfur and nitrogen released by cars and industrial processes. Acid rain is also called acid depositionbecause this term includes other forms of acidic precipitation (such as snow).

Acidic deposition occurs in two ways: wet and dry. Wet deposition is any form of precipitation that removes acids from the atmosphere and deposits them on Earth’s surface. Dry deposition polluting particles and gases stick to the ground via dust and smoke in the absence of precipitation. Even though dry, this form of deposition is dangerous as well, because precipitation can eventually wash pollutants into streams, lakes, and rivers.

Acidity itself is determined based on the pH level (the amount of acidity or alkalinity) of the water droplets. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with a lower pH being more acidic, while a high pH is alkaline, and seven is neutral. Normal rainwater is slightly acidic, with a pH range of 5.3-6.0. Acid deposition is anything below that range. It is also important to note that the pH scale is logarithmic, and each whole number on the scale represents a 10-fold change.

Today, acid deposition is present in the northeastern United States, southeastern Canada, and much of Europe, including portions of Sweden, Norway, and Germany. In addition, parts of South Asia (particularly China, Sri Lanka, and southern India) and South Africa are all in danger of being affected by acid deposition in the future.

What Causes Acid Rain?

Acid deposition can be caused by natural sources such as volcanoes, but it is mainly caused by the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide during fossil fuel combustion. When these gases are discharged into the atmosphere, they react with the water, oxygen, and other gases already present there to form sulfuric acid, ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid. These acids then disperse over large areas because of wind patterns and fall back to the ground as acid rain or other forms of precipitation.

The gases most responsible for acid deposition are a byproduct of electric power generation and the burning of coal. As such, man-made acid deposition began becoming a significant issue during the Industrial Revolution and was first discovered by a Scottish chemist Robert Angus Smith in 1852. In that year, he discovered the relationship between acid rain and atmospheric pollution in Manchester, England.

Although it was discovered in the 1800s, acid deposition did not gain significant public attention until the 1960s, and the term "acid rain" was coined in 1972. Public attention further increased in the 1970s when the "New York Times" published reports about problems occurring in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire.

Effects of Acid Rain

After studying the Hubbard Brook Forest and other areas, researchers found several important effects of acid deposition on both natural and man-made environments. Aquatic settings are the most clearly affected by acid deposition, however, because acidic precipitation falls directly into them. Both dry and wet deposition also runs off from forests, fields, and roads and flows into lakes, rivers, and streams.

As this acidic liquid flows into larger bodies of water, it is diluted. Howvever, over time, acids can accrue and lower the overall pH of the body of water. Acid deposition also causes clay soils to release aluminum and magnesium, further lowering the pH in some areas. If the pH of a lake drops below 4.8, its plants and animals risk death. It is estimated that around 50,000 lakes in the United States and Canada have a pH below normal (about 5.3 for water). Several hundred of these have a pH too low to support any aquatic life.

Aside from aquatic bodies, acid deposition can significantly affect forests. As acid rain falls on trees, it can make them lose their leaves, damage their bark, and stunt their growth. By damaging these parts of the tree, it makes them vulnerable to disease, extreme weather, and insects. Acid falling on a forest’s soil is also harmful because it disrupts soil nutrients, kills microorganisms in the soil, and can sometimes cause a calcium deficiency. Trees at high altitudes are also susceptible to problems induced by acidic cloud cover as the moisture in the clouds blankets them.

Damage to forests by acid rain is seen all over the world, but the most advanced cases are in Eastern Europe. It’s estimated that in Germany and Poland, half of the forests are damaged, while 30 percent in Switzerland have been affected.

Finally, acid deposition also has an effect on architecture and art because of its ability to corrode certain materials. As acid lands on buildings (especially those constructed with limestone), it reacts with minerals in the stones, sometimes causing them to disintegrate and wash away. Acid deposition can also cause concrete to deteriorate, and it can corrode modern buildings, cars, railroad tracks, airplanes, steel bridges, and pipes above and below ground.