[Karen W. (OP)]

I thought this would help all of us who are not knowledgeable in this department to become more knowledgeable and hip in the chemical department! LOL!
And since you all are the chemists and scientists I will let you begin! LOL
Each post should contain one chemical and where it comes from or where we find it.. You may elaborate on its usage if you like! Thanks!

[Chemistry4me]

Starting at the beginnning
Hydrogen, (Greek, “water former”), reactive, colourless, odourless, and tasteless gaseous element. Hydrogen reacts with many non-metals. It combines with nitrogen in the presence of a catalyst to form ammonia, with sulphur to form hydrogen sulphide, with chlorine to form hydrogen chloride, and with oxygen to form water. Hydrogen also combines with some metals, such as sodium and lithium, to form hydrides. The lightest in weight of all gases, hydrogen has been used for the inflation of balloons and dirigibles. It ignites very easily, however, and several airships, including the Hindenburg, have been destroyed by hydrogen fires. Hydrogen is also used in high-temperature torches for cutting, melting, and welding metals. The most abundant element in the universe.

[DoctorBeaver]

Helium - from the Greek "Helios" meaning Sun. IT is the 2nd most abundant element in the universe and is formed when 2 Hydrogen atoms get friendly.

[Chemistry4me]

Helium, inert, colourless, odourless gaseous element. Helium has a density of 0.1664 g/litre at 20° C. Helium is the most difficult of all gases to liquefy and is impossible to solidify at normal atmospheric pressures. These properties make liquid helium extremely useful as a refrigerant and for experimental work in producing and measuring temperatures close to absolute zero. Liquid helium can be cooled almost to absolute zero at normal pressure by rapid removal of the vapour above the liquid. At a temperature slightly above absolute zero, it is transformed into helium II, also called superfluid helium, a liquid with unique physical properties. It has no freezing point, and its viscosity is apparently zero; it passes readily through minute cracks and pores and will even creep up the sides and over the lip of a container. At sea level, helium occurs in the atmosphere in the proportion of 5.4 parts per million. Natural gas, which contains an average of 0.4 per cent helium, is the major commercial source of helium.

[DoctorBeaver]

Bloody Kiwi showoff!  [!]

[Chemistry4me]

Haha [] I didn't memorise all of those just in case you thought I was smart or something [] []

[Chemistry4me]

Lithium, silvery-white, chemically reactive metallic element that is the lightest in weight of all metals. In group 1 of the periodic table, lithium is one of the alkali metals. Discovery of the element is generally credited to Johann A. Arfvedson in 1817. Lithium is obtained by the electrolysis of a mixture of fused lithium and potassium chloride. It tarnishes instantaneously and corrodes rapidly upon exposure to air; when it is stored it must be immersed in a liquid such as naphtha. Lithium does not occur in nature in the free state but only in compounds, which are widely distributed. The metal is used as a deoxidizer and to remove unwanted gases during the manufacture of non-ferrous castings. Lithium vapour is used to prevent carbon dioxide and oxygen from forming scale in furnaces in heat-treating steel. Important compounds of lithium include the hydroxide, used for bonding carbon dioxide in the ventilator systems of spacecraft and submarines; and the hydride, used to inflate lifeboats, and its heavy hydrogen (deuterium) equivalent, used in making the hydrogen bomb. Lithium carbonate, a common mineral, is used in the treatment of manic-depressive psychosis. Oh yeah, forgot to say that lithium ranks 35th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth.

[miriam0920]

Good post Karen! 

Potassium (K)  Metal - Oxidation State +1
Atomic Mass 39.098
Soft, silver-white Solid at STP.  Floats and burns with a bright blue flame when added to water.  K means Kalium for the Latin name.

[Chemistry4me]

Beryllium, symbol Be, grey, brittle, metallic element. Beryllium was named after its chief mineral, beryl, an aluminium beryllium silicate. It was discovered as an oxide, now known as beryllia. Because the soluble compounds are sweet-tasting, the new element was first called glucinium, a reference to the sugar glucose. Beryllium has a high strength per unit weight. It tarnishes only slightly in air, becoming covered with a thin layer of oxide. The ability of beryllium to scratch glass is usually ascribed to this oxide coating. Beryllium compounds are generally white (or colourless in solution) and show great similarity in chemical properties to the corresponding compounds of aluminium. This similarity makes it difficult to separate beryllium from the aluminium that is almost always present in beryllium ores. The addition of beryllium to some alloys often results in products that have high heat resistance, improved corrosion resistance, greater hardness, greater insulating properties, and better casting qualities. Many parts of supersonic aircraft are made of beryllium alloys because of their lightness, stiffness, and dimensional stability.

[DoctorBeaver]

Delphinium - erm... oops, sorry - that's a flower. But it does sound chemicalish  []

[Chemistry4me]

Boron, hard, brittle semi-metallic element. Boron is in group 13 of the periodic table. It is a trace element needed for plant growth, but toxic in excess. Research suggests that it is also nutritionally important for bone health in humans and other vertebrates. Pure boron, as usually prepared, is a powder, though a crystalline form can be prepared by dissolving boron in molten aluminium and cooling slowly. Boron does not react with water or hydrochloric acid and is unaffected by air at ordinary temperatures. At red heat it combines directly with nitrogen to form boron nitride (BN), and with oxygen to form boron oxide (B2O3). With metals it forms borides, such as magnesium boride (Mg3B2). The original sources of boron compounds were the minerals borax and boric acid. Boron ranks about 38th in natural abundance among the elements in the Earth's crust. In its compounds, boron acts like a non-metal, but unlike most non-metals, pure boron is an electrical conductor, like the metals and like carbon (graphite). Crystalline boron is similar to diamond in appearance and optical properties, and is almost as hard as diamond. 

[lightarrow]

Good post Karen! 

Potassium (K)  Metal - Oxidation State +1
Atomic Mass 39.098
Soft, silver-white Solid at STP.  Floats and burns with a bright blue flame when added to water.  K means Kalium for the Latin name.

Since you are studying chemistry you have to know that the flame's colour it's not blue but lilac:
http://www.amazingrust.com/Experiments/how_to/Images/Flame%20Test/K+/K+1%20(KCl).jpg

[Chemistry4me]

Now we get to dear old carbon, symbol C, element that is crucial to the existence of living organisms, and that has many important industrial applications. Carbon is in group 14 of the periodic table. Three forms of elemental carbon that occur in nature—diamond, graphite, and amorphous carbon—are solids with extremely high melting points and are insoluble in all solvents at ordinary temperatures. The physical properties of the three forms differ widely because of the differences in crystalline structure. In diamond, the hardest material known, each atom is linked to four other atoms in a three-dimensional framework, whereas graphite consists of weakly bonded plane layers of atoms that are arranged in hexagons. Amorphous carbon is characterized by a very low degree of crystallinity. Pure amorphous carbon can be obtained by heating purified sugar in the absence of air. A fourth form of naturally occurring carbon is a whole class of fullerenes, the most well-known of which is Buckminsterfullerene. The isotopes carbon-13 and carbon-14 are used extensively as isotopic tracers in biochemical research. Carbon-14 is also used in radiocarbon dating, which permits the estimation of the age of fossils and other organic materials. Carbon-14 is continuously produced in the atmosphere by cosmic rays and is incorporated into all living matter.

[DoctorBeaver]

Nitrogen - a tasteless, odourless, colourless gas with atomic number of 7. The Earth's atmosphere is 78% Nitrogen. It was discovered in 1772 by Rutherford.

Its melting point is -209.9 °C (63.250008 K, -345.81998 °F) and its boiling point is -195.8 °C (77.35 K, -320.44 °F) so sticking your elbow in liquid nitrogen to test the temperature is not a good idea.

[Chemistry4me]

Nitrogen, symbol N, Nitrogen is in group 15 of the periodic table. Nitrogen is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic gas. It can be condensed into a colourless liquid, which can in turn be compressed into a colourless, crystalline solid. Nitrogen exists in two natural isotopic forms, and four radioactive isotopes have been artificially prepared. Nitrogen is obtained from the atmosphere by passing air over heated copper or iron. The oxygen is removed from the air, leaving nitrogen mixed with inert gases. Pure nitrogen is obtained by fractional distillation of liquid air; because liquid nitrogen has a lower boiling point than liquid oxygen, the nitrogen distills off first and can be collected. Nitrogen combines with other elements only at very high temperatures or pressures. The nitrogen so produced is very active, combining with alkali metals to form azides; with the vapour of zinc, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic to form nitrides; and with many hydrocarbons to form hydrocyanic acid and cyanides, also known as nitriles. Most of the nitrogen used in the chemical industry is obtained by the fractional distillation of liquid air. It is then used to synthesize ammonia. From ammonia produced in this manner, a wide variety of important chemical products are prepared, including fertilizers, nitric acid, urea, hydrazine, and amines.

[Chemistry4me]

Oxygen, colourless, odourless, tasteless, slightly magnetic gaseous element. On Earth, oxygen is more abundant than any other element. Gaseous oxygen can be condensed to a pale blue liquid that is strongly magnetic. Pale blue solid oxygen is produced by compressing the liquid.  Oxygen comprises 60% of the human body. Three structural forms of oxygen are known: ordinary oxygen, containing two atoms per molecule, formula O2; ozone, containing three atoms per molecule, formula O3; and a pale blue, non-magnetic form, O4, containing four atoms per molecule, which readily breaks down into ordinary oxygen. Three stable isotopes of oxygen are known; oxygen-16 is the most abundant. It comprises 99.76% of ordinary oxygen and was used in the determination of atomic weights until the 1960s. Large amounts of oxygen are used in high-temperature welding torches, in which a mixture of oxygen and another gas produces a flame of much higher temperature than is obtained by burning gases in air.

[Chemistry4me]

Fluorine, (Latin, fluo, “flow”), a chemically reactive and poisonous gaseous element. In group 17 of the periodic table. Fluorine is a pale, greenish-yellow gas, slightly heavier than air, poisonous, corrosive, and of penetrating and disagreeable odour. It is the most chemically active of the non-metallic elements. It combines directly with most elements and indirectly with nitrogen, chlorine, and oxygen. Nearly all compounds are decomposed by fluorine to form fluorides that are among the most stable of all chemical compounds. Fluorine occurs naturally in the combined form as fluorite, cryolite, and apatite. Fluorite, from which most fluorine compounds are generally derived, is widespread in Mexico, the central United States, France, and England. It is the 17th element in order of abundance in the crust of the Earth. Fluorine and many fluorides, such as hydrogen fluoride and sodium fluoride, are extremely poisonous. Drinking water containing excessive amounts of fluorides causes tooth enamel to become brittle and to chip off, leaving a stained or mottled effect. The proper proportion of fluorides in drinking water, however, has been found to greatly reduce tooth decay. Teflon, a fluorine plastic that is very resistant to most chemical action, is widely used to make components in the car industry, and is also used as a coating on the inner surface of frying pans.

[Chemistry4me]

Neon, (from Greek, “new”) is a colourless, odourless, gaseous element that makes up a tiny fraction of the Earth's atmosphere. In group 18 of the periodic table, neon is one of the noble gases. Neon was first separated from other inert gases in 1898 by the British chemists Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers. It constitutes 18 ppm in the atmosphere. Neon occurs naturally in three stable isotopic forms: neon-20, which is the most abundant, neon-22, and neon-21. The first demonstration of the existence of a stable isotope in an element was performed with neon in 1912. Neon produces a crimson glow in a vacuum electric-discharge tube and is used extensively in the familiar neon lamp of advertising displays. The term neon light is often incorrectly applied to discharge tubes filled with gases other than neon that produce a coloured glow. When a current is passed through a tube of neon, it gives off a brilliant red light. Colours other than red may be obtained by adding other gases or by using coloured glass tubes. Liquid neon is used as a refrigerant in cryogenics. It has over 40 times more refrigerating capacity per unit volume than liquid helium. Neon is also used in the making of Geiger Counters plus arc weldings.

[Chemistry4me]

Sodium, highly reactive, silvery-white, a very soft metallic element. In group 1 of the periodic table. Elemental sodium is metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It oxidizes immediately on exposure to air and reacts violently with water, forming sodium hydroxide and hydrogen. Sodium is found in nature only in the combined state. It occurs in the ocean and in salt lakes as sodium chloride, NaCl, and less often as sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, and sodium sulphate, Na2SO4. Sodium ranks seventh in order of abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. The element is used in the manufacture of tetraethyl lead and as a cooling agent in nuclear reactors. The most important compound of sodium is sodium chloride, known commonly as salt. Other important compounds include sodium carbonate, known as washing soda, and sodium bicarbonate, known as baking soda. Sodium hydroxide, known commercially as soda lye or caustic soda, is used in the manufacture of soap, rayon, and paper, in oil refining, and in the textile and rubber industries. Sodium fluoride, NaF, is used as an antiseptic, as a poison for mice and roaches, and in ceramics. Sodium nitrate, known as Chile saltpetre, is used as a fertilizer. Sodium peroxide, Na2O2, is an important bleaching and oxidizing agent. Sodium thiosulphate, Na2S2O3• 5H2O, known as hypo, is used in photography as a fixing agent.

[lightarrow]

Sodium, highly reactive, silvery-white, a very soft metallic element....

What would you use to precipitate sodium from a water solution of Na⁺?