The Elements
Hello Humans! “There’s Antimony, Arsenic, Aluminum, Selenium, and Hydrogen and Oxygen and Nitrogen and Rhenium, and Nickel, Neodymium, Neptunium, Germanium, and Iron, Americium, Ruthenium, Uranium, Europium, Zirconium, Lutetium, Vanadium, and Lanthanum, and Osmium, and Astatine, and Radium, and Gold, Protactinium, and Indium, and Gallium, and Iodine and Thorium and Thulium and Thallium. There’s Yttrium, Ytterbium, Actinium, Rubidium, and Boron, Gadolinium, Niobium, Iridium. There’s Strontium and Silicon and Silver and Samarium, and Bismuth, Bromine, Lithium, Beryllium, and Barium. There’s Holmium and Helium and Hafnium and Erbium, and Phosphorus and Francium and Fluorine and Terbium, and Manganese and Mercury Molybdenum, Magnesium, Dysprosium and Scandium and Cerium and Cesium. And Lead, Praseodymium and Platinum, Plutonium, Palladium, Promethium, Potassium, Polonium, and Tantalum, Technetium, Titanium, Tellurium, and Cadmium and Calcium and Chromium and Curium. There’s Sulfur, Californium and Fermium, Berkelium, and also Mendelevium, Einsteinium, Nobelium, and Argon, Krypton, Neon, Radon, Xenon, Zinc and Rhodium, and Chlorine, Carbon, Cobalt, Copper, Tungsten, Tin, and Sodium. These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvard, and there may be many others, but they haven’t been discovered.”
Hopefully you recognized at least one or two of those words from your High School Chemistry class. They are the elements! The building blocks of life. And yes, this is a real song, titled “The Elements,” written by Tom Lehrer in 1959. As you can see, he does not list all of the current elements. This is because some of the elements either weren’t discovered, or named at the time. Luckily for us today, all 118 elements on the Periodic Table of Elements have been discovered or made, named, and have many known properties of them. I thought after me showing off my amazing Periodic Table of Elements, that I would tell you all my favorite elements. So, here they are. Hydrogen, Boron, Carbon, Oxygen, Fluorine, Chlorine, Potassium, Titanium, Iron, Iodine, Xenon, Mercury, and Uranium.
Hydrogen. Abbreviation: H Atomic Number: 1 Atomic Mass: 1.0079 amu. 1 proton, 1 electron.
The cool thing about H happens when you take away it’s electron. It becomes a proton. That may not seem like much, but in the world of Chemistry, it’s a huge deal. This means that now, that H proton can make a solution acidic. That’s all an acidic solution is, is an excess of protons, or H^+ atoms. It’s crazy how a tiny tweak in the atomic world can have huge consequences in our world. Did you know that the core of Jupiter is solid Hydrogen? That’s right SOLID HYDROGEN! The temperature has to be so low, and the pressure so high for H to even think about becoming a liquid. It’s also apparently very reactive. Me and some of my nerdy Chemistry friends want to blow it up one day, to see the amazing fireworks show in the sky. This also brings me to the fact that H is an excellent fuel source because it's very high in energy. Sadly, also being high in energy means that it explodes and reacts easily. That is why we don't use Hydrogen-Fuel Cells as a clean power source today. H made my list of favorite atoms because it made me think more about the small details in Chemical Equations and Reactions and how they bring about the bigger things on the Products side of things, and because it reminds me of my Chemistry friends back in Cedar City.
Boron. Abbreviation: B Atomic Number: 5 Atomic Mass: 10.811 amu. 5 protons, 5 electrons.
I had one teacher in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade that altered my course of study for the rest of my life. She was a young, single teacher, fresh out of college and she LOVED Science. She first taught me 7th grade Life Science. That is where I found out I was good at Chemistry. As basic as it was, I was one of the best in our class at drawing atoms. Then in 8th grade, I was her Teacher Assistant, and I became great friends with her. 9th grade is the course that really changed my mind-set towards Science. Anyways, this teacher’s favorite element was B. She said she felt bad for Boron, and she never really explained it. But, my Chemistry Professor this last year definitely did. B, has 3 “valence electrons,” if we can even call them that, because that is a lie. Anyways, B can either make a hybrid orbital to make 4 bonds, or it can be lazy and make 3 bonds. The one thing Physics taught me, is that nature, no matter how amazing it is, is the laziest thing ever. It just does what is easiest, and B is no exception to the rule. It only makes 3 bonds, because it is lazy and because its Z-affective is so low. This is weird because atoms like to have full orbitals. So, I added B to my favorite atoms list more because of the reminder it is to my Jr. High Science teacher, and how she influenced the rest of my life. Thank you Clinger!
Carbon. Abbreviation: C Atomic Number: 6 Atomic Mass: 12. 0107 amu. 6 protons, 6 electrons.
Oh Carbon. The building block of life. I owe my life to you, literally. None of life would exist without C. C is so crucial to life because of its ability to make 4 bonds without creating hybrid orbitals. This ability to make 4 bonds has a crazy huge possibility of combinations. A triple bond with a single bond. Two double bonds, or one double bond and two other bonds. Four single bonds. The possibilities are endless. C tends to form long chains of C and H, called Carbon Chains. Yes, Chemists are very un-creative and stick to simple names for things. For example, a Carbon Chain is a chain of C atoms. Good Job Chemists for making everything easier for us students to memorize and learn the names of things! Anyways, C made my list because I wouldn’t be alive without it.
Oxygen. Abbreviation: O Atomic Number: 8 Atomic Mass: 15.9994 amu. 8 protons, 8 electrons.
This element may seem essential to life, and it is… in the right quantities and form. O is one of those things that we need to survive, but if we have too much, we die. Wonder why we don’t all go around wearing oxygen masks breathing from oxygen tanks? Well, first of all, that would be super expensive, and two, we would all have tons of health problems and possibly die from it. Also, when O is paired with two other O molecules, also known as trioxygen, also known as Ozone, it is also deadly. Yes, Ozone is great when found in the Ozone layer, but down here around us humans, it is no good. I put Oxygen on my list, because it is the secret villain. Oxygen taught me to look more closely at all Chemicals. Some may seem good on the surface, but are killers underneath.
Fluorine. Abbreviation: F Atomic Number: 9 Atomic Mass: 18.998403 amu. 9 protons, 9 electrons.
As my Chemistry Professor this last year put it, “Fluorine is the Tyrannosaurus Rex of Electronegativity.” 99% of you are probably like, What the heck does any of that mean? Well, my friends, let me tell you. Electronegativity is “how badly” an atom wants electrons. F always gets the electrons it wants. It’s the bully on the Atomic Playground. Why is this? Some may call it the “Octet Rule,” but that’s a lie, for the most part. It’s more of a guide-line, but it applies to F. F wants all of its orbitals full of electrons so it can be stable. However, when F combines with H, to make HF or Hydrofluoric acid, it is deadly. When you get a Chemical Burn from HF, which is normally ionized in water making it H^+ and F^-, you have the most electronegative element, and a pure acid. The acid eats at your skin, which isn’t even the bad part. Then the F^- ions come in and mess up all of the internal functions of the cells. So pretty much, when you get a HF Chemical Burn, that part of your body is dead. My Chemistry Professor from last year said that it was the only acid that he was actually afraid of. He said he would wear so much protective gear around it, so he wouldn’t lose any part of his body to it. And plus, comparing F to a dinosaur is pretty great. I guess that would make O the Velociraptor. Fluorine made my list because of its deadly properties, and its super high electronegativity.
Chlorine. Abbreviation: Cl Atomic Number: 17 Atomic Mass: 35.453 amu 17 protons, 17 electrons
Most of you probably think of Cl as being in a swimming pool. Well, that is because it’s used to clean the pool. Some people think that Cl in pools is bad. Why is this? Well, first of all, Cl is right beneath F on the Periodic Table, meaning it has a big Electronegativity, but not as huge as F. It also can make multiple acids with water. HCl, HClO, HClO2, and HClO3, just to name a few. HCl, or Hydrochloric acid is the worst of them. In pools, the molarity of HCl is very low, so it doesn’t cause a ton of damage to the body when you don’t swim very often. But for the waterbugs, damage is almost certain. One time in Chemistry lab, I spilled 0.001M HCl on my skin. 0.0001M means that it was a very low concentration of HCl. Almost seconds afterwards, my skin started to sting. So I washed it off and ended up being just fine. Cl is found in many household cleaners, because its electronegativity allows it to react with other things, but not be super dangerous to humans in large quantities. But just don’t go pouring your bleach all over your house, and you’ll be fine. Chlorine made the list because of how it’s reactive, but not to the extent of harm to the human body.
Potassium. Abbreviation: K Atomic Number: 19 Atomic Mass: 39.0983 amu 19 protons, 19 electrons.
Did you know K is so reactive, that when you put it into water, it blows up? I’m serious, go watch it right now. It’s only 19 seconds long: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy1DC6Euqj4 Crazy huh? In my Chemistry Lab last year, me and my lab partners got to experience this first hand, but on a lower scale. They gave us a tiny piece of pure K, it was probably close to 1 or 2 grams, and then we put it in our beaker, and it lit on fire. If we had had a piece as big as the guy in the video, we would have had a huge explosion too. Most Alkali Metals are stored in Mineral Oil, because if left in the air, they oxidize. On me and my Chemistry Friends back in Cedar City, we put lighting a Banana on fire on our Chemistry Bucket List, because bananas have very high concentrations of K, and we want to watch it explode. So Potassium had to make the list of favorite Elements because of its very high reactivity.
Titanium. Abbreviation: Ti Atomic Number: 22 Atomic Mass: 47.867 amu. 22 protons, 22 electrons.
Funny story, some companies engrave “Titanium” on different things, such as golf clubs, hammers, and other manly tools, just so that they can charge you a little bit more. So, the next time you go shopping for your golf clubs or garage tools, make sure to check that it really is pure Ti before you spend more money on one hammer that has “Titanium” engraved on it, than one made of the same material with nothing special engraved on it. Why do companies do this? Well, first of all, the general public is quite stupid and doesn’t know how to research the things they buy and what Ti really is. Ti is the strongest pure metal. Now you know why we love Ti so much. And one of my favorite Iron Man Villains is named “Titanium Man,” and his suit is made out of Titanium. I also have Titanium implanted in my heart. I will tell you all about this in a later post. But Titanium made my list because it’s the strongest pure metal, it’s literally a part of my body, and it shows me that the customers at my favorite hamburger place in Centerville where I worked at and dealt with stupid customers for 3 years, isn’t the only place to have stupid customers.
Iron. Abbreviation: Fe Atomic Number: 26 Atomic Mass: 55.845 amu. 26 protons, 26 electrons.
All I have to say about why I love Fe is Iron Man. That’s really the whole reason. So Iron made my list because it reminds me of Iron Man, my favorite superhero, both in the comics and in the movies.
Iodine. Abbreviation: I Atomic Number: 53 Atomic Mass: 126.90447 amu. 53 protons, 53 electrons.
Going back to my 9th grade Science Teacher, and the class that literally changed my life. We were the first grade at Centerville Jr. High to be able to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses during 9th grade year. I originally took the course because my favorite teacher was teaching it, but ended up with a life-altering realization. Because it was a new course to the school, they had to get new textbooks, and number them. My teacher being the enthusiastic Science Nerd that she was decided to number and name the books after the Periodic Table of Elements. Her teacher’s book was number 5-B, or Boron. Mine happened to be 53-I for Iodine. So Iodine reminds me of why I am becoming a crazy mad Scientist. It also happens to be in my favorite group of elements, along with F, Cl, and Br, known as the Halogens. It’s the only Solid compound in the Halogens. So Iodine made my list because it reminds me of why and how I originally fell in love with Science.
Xenon. Abbreviation: Xe Atomic Number: 54 Atomic Mass: 131.293 amu. 54 protons, 54 electrons.
Normally, I don’t like Noble Gasses. As a Scientist, they’re lame. They don’t react because they are stable. And while Xe isn’t that reactive, it has one saving property: It’s size. Because Xe is so big, it is able to make a hybrid orbital with 6 free electrons. This means that it can make 6 bonds. For those of you who aren’t Chemists, THAT’S INSANE!!! The most bonds a normal atom can make is 4, but because Xe is so big, it’s able to make 6. So, Xenon is added to the list for being able to make 6 bonds.
Mercury. Abbreviation: Hg Atomic Number: 80 Atomic Mass: 200.59 amu. 80 protons, 80 electrons.
Did you know that if you take a bath in liquid Hg, and drop toasters into it, you won’t die from electrocution? However, you will die from the Hg crushing your insides, or from some other crazy disease that the Hg gives you. But it’s one of the only metals that has a bigger conductivity to contain the electricity than our bodies. And seriously, this stuff is heavy. My Chemistry Professor passed around a bottle of it that probably contained about 1000 mL of liquid Hg. And it was dang heavy. But it’s one of only 2 transition metals that are liquid at room temperature. Hg is a cool element. I mean, it’s a liquid metal! The reason Mercury was added to my list is because of its unique properties as both a liquid and a transition metal. It’s also on me and my Chemistry Friends’ Bucket List to bathe in liquid Mercury and drop toasters into it.
Uranium. Abbreviation: U Atomic Number: 92 Atomic Mass: 238.02891 amu. 92 protons, 92 electrons.
Radioactive material. It’s really cool. Giving off Alpha and Beta particles with their accompanying Gamma Rays. Man, Nuclear Chemistry and Physics is super cool. Did you know that you get more radiation from flying in an airplane on multiple business trips than you do from working in a nuclear power plant? Crazy, right? All of you business men are living on the dangerous side of life. You insane people. Anyways, at the end of my first year at the University last year, in both my Chemistry and Physics classes, we learned about Nuclear Chemistry and Physics at the exact same time. I learned that Physics explains the how and why of Chemistry, and Chemistry explains the how and why of Physics. The two go hand in hand in everything. This unit made me start to connect more dots between Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Uranium was used the most as an example of Nuclear equations, and how Alpha and Beta decay happen. Uranium reminds me to connect my sciences together to make them make more sense and solidify them in my brain. Also, Uranium is the last of 3 Actinides to be a REAL element. Well, the others are real, but they have been synthetically made. Also, my Physics professor brought a sample of Uranium into class when doing one of his demos. We got to see the Alpha particles fly off of it when he set up the experiment. That was one of the coolest experiences of my life. And luckily I sat in the back so I didn’t get bad radiation poisoning. So Uranium makes it as my last favorite Element because of how it reminds me to connect my sciences to understand and remember them better.
And there you have it! My favorite Elements. Some of the reasons are for personal reasons, and others are for the super cool chemical things they can do. Do you guys have a favorite Element? Comment below if you do! Stay wild, flower child.