The Camden School for Girls Parent Portal - Friday News

7C - Science

‘We don’t love ALL of the periodic table, just elements of it’

Everything on Earth is made from one or more of the 118 chemical elements in the periodic table. The version of the table we use today was first proposed in 1869 by the Russian chemist Dimitri Mendeleev, who wanted to illustrate recurring trends in the properties of the different elements. To do this, he put them into a systematic order. Knowing this order allows us to predict how elements will behave, and how they will interact with each other or possibly combine to make new substances.

After learning about the particle model in the Autumn term, 7C are now finding out about atoms, elements and compounds. They were challenged to produce a poster on an element of their choice that had to be informative and interesting. Here are some of the fascinating things they discovered:

Arsenic (As) - Although it’s a poison, we need a tiny amount. 0.00001% of our bodies is arsenic. (Eleanor)
Arsenic (As) earned its nickname ‘the silent killer’ as once dissolved, it is odourless, tasteless and colourless. (Kaila)
Beryllium (Be) - By weight, it has six times the specific stiffness of steel and is ⅔ the density of aluminium. (Charlotte)
Carbon (C) - Almost a fifth of your body is carbon (Imaan)
Chlorine (Cl) can remove essential oils from the skin, drying the skin and potentially causing blisters. (Violette)
Chlorine (Cl) makes up 1.9% of the mass of our oceans and seas. (Hamida)
Chlorine (Cl) was used as a chemical weapon in the First World War. (Delphia)
Gold (Au) - All the gold that has been mined would fit into a 23m x 23m x 23m cube. (Esme)
Gold (Au) - Nearly all the gold on Earth came from meteorites that bombarded the planet over 200 million years after it formed. (Zariya)
Iron (Fe) - It is believed that iron was first discovered by the Hittites of ancient Egypt in 5,000 - 3,000 BCE. (Katie)
Iron (Fe) - The surface of Mars gets its red colour from the compound iron oxide, which is also what rust is. (Ibtisam)
Krypton (Kr) is three times denser than air and is used in film projectors. (Bertina)

Krypton (Kr) was discovered almost accidentally, so it was named after the Greek word Krypto, meaning ‘hidden’. (Chloe)
Mercury (Hg) - The only metal that’s liquid at room temperature, Mercury was sometimes known as quicksilver. (Janet)
Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential, trace mineral found in green beans, green peas and cucumber, among other things. (Lyza)
Nickel (Ni) is used in batteries for hybrid vehicles, armour plating and coins. (Daphne)
Nitrogen (N) is essential for all living organisms as it’s needed to make proteins. (Kalae)
Nitrogen (N) - The atmosphere contains 4,000,000,000,000 tons of Nitrogen. (Grace)
Oxygen (O) - Its name comes from the Greek for ‘acid forming’. (Anais)
Oxygen (O) - The colour of oxygen is pale blue. (Kenya).
Phosphorus (P) was used in matches for around sixty years and resulted in a horrific disease called phossy jaw. (Lorea)
Potassium (K) burns with a lilac (yes, lilac) flame. (Vanessa)
Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and is used on electronic devices. (Michelle)
Silver (Ag) - It has the highest thermal conductivity of all the elements. (Amina)
Xenon (Xe) - Because it is denser than air, xenon can be used to produce a deep-sounding voice (the opposite of helium). (Eva).
Xenon (Xe) glows with a blue/lavender colour when electricity is passed through it. (Gabriel)
Zinc (Zn) - Oysters contain more zinc per serving than any other food. (Becky)