| 75% of the universe is hydrogen, the simplest and most common element |
Hydrogen |
| Hydrogen is extremely flammable and will easily explode |
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| Water is made of hydrogen and oxygen, but it can quench fires |
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| Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen in 1766 |
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| The word hydrogen is Greek for "water creator", as burning it makes water |
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| Helium is the second most common element, making almost 25% of matter |
Helium |
| Inhaling helium emphasises the higher-pitched tones in our voices |
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| Helium was discovered after spectral analysis of sunlight in 1868 |
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| Because of that it was named after Helios, the Greek sun god |
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| Helium is lighter than air and not flammable so it's used to fill airships |
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| Oxygen, in air and water, is essential for complex life forms like animals |
Oxygen |
| Ozone is a type of oxygen formed by 3 rather than the usual 2 atoms |
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| When oxygen was first discovered in 1774 it was named "dephlogisticated air" |
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| Most of the oxygen in our air is produced by plants photosynthesising |
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| Despite its name, oxidation doesn't necessarily involve oxygen |
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| Carbon forms more compounds than any other element |
Carbon |
| There are many carbon allotropes (forms) including diamonds and graphite |
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| All life on Earth is based on carbon. Alien life may be different |
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| Carbon has the highest melting point of all elements: 3,500 degrees Celsius |
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| Carbon was "discovered" in 1789, but men were using it since ancient times |
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| Neon is the 5th most abundant element in the universe but is rare on Earth |
Neon |
| When electrically charged neon gas emits a brilliant red-orange light |
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| This made it useful for advertisers and in 1913 a large sign was set up in Paris |
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| The name "neon" means "new" in ancient Greek |
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| It was discovered in 1898 by Sir William Ramsay and Morris W Travers |
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| Approximately 78% of the air we breathe is nitrogen |
Nitrogen |
| Nitrogen is present in DNA and proteins so is essential for all living things |
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| Nitrogen was named "azote", meaning "without life", by Antoine Lavoisier |
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| Liquid nitrogen boils at -96 degrees Celsius. It has uses but is very dangerous |
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| "The bends" happens when nitrogen bubbles form in the blood |
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| If you pour water on a magnesium fire you make it worse. Hydrogen is made |
Magnesium |
| Chlorophyl, essential for photosynthesis, contains magnesium |
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| We need it too for 300 or so bodily functions |
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| It was discovered in 1755 but was not isolated until 1808 by Humphrey Davy |
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| It takes its name from the Magnesia region of Greece |
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| Silicon is a metalloid. It behaves as a metal and a non-metal |
Silicon |
| Silicon is the second most abundant element on Earth after oxygen |
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| Sand is made of silicon (silicon dioxide), and so is glass |
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| Silicon has many uses as varied as microprocessors and medical implants |
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| Jöns Jacob Berzelius discovered silicon in 1824. Its name means "flint carbon" |
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| The Earth's core is made of iron. It generates our magnetic field |
Iron |
| Iron reacts with oxygen and water to make rust, or iron oxide |
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| We need iron to carry oxygen around our bodies |
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| Iron's symbol is Fe, short for its Latin name, "ferrum" |
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| People first discovered and started using iron as early as 5,000 BCE |
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| Sulfur is also known as "brimstone" which means "stone that burns" |
Sulfur |
| It can be spelt as "sulphur" or "sulfur". The latter is always used in science |
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| Sulfide compounds stink. They are in skunk scent and rotten eggs |
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| Acid rain is caused by sulfur dioxide, a by-product of burning fossil fuels |
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| We've known sulfur for millennia but it was not seen as an element until 1789 |
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