Pandora’s

Elemental
Box
 The following works have been
compiled by our scholars to help
future generations identify
unknown elements. This list is not
comprehensive, but we hope that it
can be of some use to you.
 What are the Physical Properties of Iron?
Color Silver-gray metal
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Ductility Easily pulled or stretched into a thin wire
Luster Has a shine or glow
Conductivity Good transmission of heat or electricity
It occurs in two or more crystalline forms in the same physical
Allotropy
state
Tensile It can be stretched without breaking
Ferromagnetic Easily magnetized

What are the Chemical Properties of Iron?

Chemical Formula Fe
Toxicity Non Toxic
Reactivity with wa-
Reacts with very hot water and steam to produce hydrogen gas
ter
Readily combines with oxygen in moist air which produces iron ox-
Oxidation
ide also known as rust
Solubility Dissolves in acids
 What are the Physical Properties of Copper?
Color Reddish-Brown metal
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Ductility Easily pulled or stretched into a thin wire
Luster Has a shine or glow
Conductivity Excellent transmission of heat or electricity

What are the Chemical Properties of Copper?

Chemical Formula Cu
Toxicity Poisonous in large amounts
Reactivity with wa-
It does not react with water
ter
Readily combines with water and carbon dioxide producing hy-
Oxidation
drated copper carbonate
Corrosion Corrodes when exposed to air
 What are the Physical Properties of Sodium?
Color Silver-White
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Ductility Easily pulled or stretched into a thin wire
Luster Has a shine or glow
Conductivity Good transmission of heat or electricity
Softness Soft enough to be cut with a knife

What are the Chemical Properties of Sodium?

Chemical Formula Na
Reactivity with wa-
Reacts explosively with water
ter
Oxidation Combines with oxygen at room temperature
Reactivity with wa-
Reacts violently with water
ter
Flammability Burns with a brilliant golden-yellow flame
Reactivity Reacts with acids to produce hydrogen gas
with acids Dissolves in mercury to form a sodium amalgam
 What are the Physical Properties of Carbon?
Two allotropes of carbon have different crystalline structures: dia-
*Allotropic mond and graphite
The physical properties of carbon vary widely with the allotropic form.
Forms of
Graphite, diamonds and coal are all nearly pure forms of carbon
Carbon
Color Diamond is highly transparent. Graphite is opaque and black
Diamond is one of the hardest substances known to man. Graphite is
Hardness
soft and often used as the "lead" in lead pencils
Diamond has a very low electrical conductivity. Graphite is a very
Conductivity
good conductor
Brittleness Very brittle, and cannot be rolled into wires or pounded into sheets
Phase Solid

What are the Chemical Properties of Carbon?

Chemical Formula C
Combines with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and
Oxidation
carbon monoxide (CO)
Reactivity Carbon does not dissolve in, or react with, water or acids
Chains of Atoms Carbon has the ability to make long strings, or chains, of atoms
Carbon forms more compounds than all other elements combined;
Compounds
several million carbon compounds are known
Carbon also occurs in a newly discovered form known as fuller-
Buckminsterfulleren -
enes or buckyballs. A fullerene is any molecule composed entire-
C60
ly of carbon. Fullerenes are similar in structure to graphite
 What are the Physical Properties of Hydrogen?
Color Colorless
Gas
Hydrogen changes from a gas to a liquid at a temperature of -
Phase 252.77°C (-422.99°F)
It changes from a liquid to a solid at a temperature of -259.2°
C (-434.6°F)
Odor Hydrogen is an odorless gas
Taste A tasteless gas
The lowest of any chemical element, 0.08999 grams per liter -
Density
the least dense of all gases
Solubility Slightly soluble in water, alcohol and some other common liquids
 What are the Chemical Properties of Hydrogen?
H
Chemical Formula
Hydrogen gas (H2)
It burns in air or oxygen to produce water
Oxidation
H2 reacts with every oxidizing element
Combining hydrogen and nitrogen at high pressure and temper-
Reactivity with gases ature produces ammonia (NH3)
Combined with carbon monoxide produces methanol (CH3OH)
It combines readily with non-metals, such as sulfur and phos-
Reactivity with non- phorus
metals It combines readily with the halogens which include fluorine,
chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine
Flammability Highly Flammable, a highly combustible diatomic gas
When mixed with air and with chlorine it can spontaneously
Combustion explode by spark, heat or sunlight. Example: the destruction of
the Hindenburg airship
Common acids include hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulfuric acid
Acid Compounds (H2SO4), nitric acid (HN O3), acetic acid (HC2H3O2) and
phosphoric acid (H3PO4)
 What are the Physical Properties of Gold?
Color Bright Yellow
Luster It has a shine or glow
Ductility It can be beaten into extremely thin sheets of gold leaf
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Conductivity Good electrical conductor
Solubility Solubility (ability to be dissolved)
A relatively soft metal, gold is usually hardened by alloying
Hardness
with copper, silver, or other metals.
Density It is a dense metal
Melting point It melts at 1065°C

What are the Chemical Properties of Gold?

Chemical Formula Au
Gold is chemically inactive, it's extremely resistant to chemical
Activity
action
Ready reducibility from compounds to metal.
Compounds Auric chloride and chloro-auric acid are its most common com-
pounds.
Aqua regia, a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids, has the
Reactivity with acids
ability to dissolve gold
197
Isotopes It has one stable isotope, Au
Reactivity with Non- Gold does not react with the Non-metals, except for halogens,
metals with which it forms halides
Alloys Silver and platinum
 What are the Physical Properties of Chlorine?
Color Greenish-yellow
Phase Gas
Odor Disagreeable, suffocating smell
Density About two and one-half times as dense as air
Is soluble in water. Its aqueous solution is called chlorine water
Solubility which consists of a mixture of chlorine, hydrochloric acid, and hy-
pochlorous acid
Boiling Point The boiling point of chlorine is –34.05°C
Melting Point The melting point is –101°C.

What are the Chemical Properties of Chlorine?

Chemical Formula Cl
Corrosion Highly corrosive
Toxicity Highly Toxic
Compounds PVC, hydrochloric acid and Sodium chloride (table salt)
Reactivity with
Most metals react with dry chlorine only upon heating
metals
Alkali metals react with chlorine by combustion when tiny amounts
Combustion
of moisture are present
Explosive Specific mixtures of chlorine and hydrogen can be explosive
It forms the oxides Cl2O, ClO2, O2O6, Cl2O7, and Cl2O8, as
Oxidation well as hypochlorites (salts of hypochlorous acid), chlorites and
chlorates
 What are the Physical Properties of Lead?
Color Bluish-White
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Conductivity Poor transmission of heat or electricity
Softness Relatively Soft
Tensile It can be stretched without breaking
Luster A shine or glow
Crystalline structure Face-centered cubic crystalline structure

What are the Chemical Properties of Lead?

Chemical Formula Pb
Reactivity with wa-
Dissolves slowly in water
ter
Oxidation Does not readily react with oxygen in the air
Flammability Does not burn
Reactivity
Reacts quickly with hot acids but slowly to cold acids
with acids
Corrosion Very resistant to corrosion but tarnishes upon exposure to air
Toxicity Toxic
 What are the Physical Properties of Tin?
Color Silver-White
Capable of being shaped or bent into extremely thin sheets (tin
Malleability
foil). Gives off a weird, screeching sound when bent
Luster Has a shine or glow
Ductility Easily pulled or stretched into a thin wire
Conductivity Good transmission of heat or electricity
Softness Very Soft (only slightly harder than lead)
Crystalline Struc-
Tetragonal
ture

What are the Chemical Properties of Tin?

Chemical Formula Sn
Not easily oxidized but oxidizes upon heating with concentrated
Oxidation
HN O3
Reactivity with water Stable in both cold and boiling water
Reactivity with acids Does not react rapidly
Relatively low toxicity but most compounds of tin are toxic
Toxicity
(poisonous)
Corrosion Resists corrosion because it is protected by an oxide film
Alloys Used extensively in alloys eg bronze and pewter
Two allotropic forms of tin are known. Gray tin and the more com-
Allotrope
mon white tin
Compounds Reacts with the halogens to form compounds
 What are the Physical Properties of Aluminum?
Color Silvery-white with a bluish tint
The pure metal is soft, but it becomes strong and hard when al-
Hardness
loyed
Ductility It can be beaten into extremely thin sheets
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Conductivity Good electrical and heat conductors
Resists corrosion by the formation of a self-protecting oxide coat-
Corrosion
ing

What are the Chemical Properties of Aluminum?

Chemical Formula Al
Occurrence Occurs only as a compound, principally in bauxite
In moist air, it combines slowly with oxygen to form aluminum
Oxidation
oxide
Reactivity
Reacts with many hot acids
with acids
Reactivity with wa-
Reacts quickly with hot water
ter
Reactivity with al-
It reacts with Alkalis such as Sodium hydroxide and limewater
kalis
A mixture of aluminum, oxygen and other elements produces
Compounds Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium
When combined with elements such as copper, silicon, or magnesi-
Alloys
um it forms alloys of great strength
 What are the Physical Properties of Calcium?
Color Silvery-white metallic
Phase Solid
Hardness Relatively soft metal
Crystalline struc-
Cubic
ture
It can be beaten into extremely thin sheets. It can be pressed,
Ductility
rolled, and cut
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Melting point Melting point is 851°C
Boiling point Boiling point is 1482°C

What are the Chemical Properties of Calcium?

Chemical Formula Ca
Oxidation Used as a deoxidizer in steel
Isotopes Six
Compounds Compounds include limestone, marble, and gypsum
Flammability When heated in air or in oxygen it ignites
Reacts with cold water rapidly at first, but the reaction is then
Reactivity with wa-
slowed due to the formation of a film of Calcium hydroxide - Ca
ter
(OH)2.
Reactivity
Highly reactive
with acids
 What are the Physical Properties of Sulfur?
Color Pale yellow - Non-metallic
Phase Solid
Crystalline structure &
Rhombic, Amorphous and Prismatic
Forms
*Allotropic There are several known allotropes including brimstone
Odor Odorless
Taste Tasteless
Solubility Insoluble in water
Boiling point The boiling point of sulfur is 444.6°C
Conductivity A poor conductor of heat and electricity
Upon melting, sulfur is converted into a mobile yellow liq-
Viscosity (resistance to uid, which turns brown and becomes a viscous, dark brown
flow - stickiness) mass at about 190°C. The viscosity decreases above 190°C,
and at 300°C sulfur again becomes a flowing liquid

What are the Chemical Properties of Sulfur?

Chemical Formula S
Familiar compounds are Sodium sulfite, hydrogen sulfide (a poi-
Compounds
sonous gas that smells like rotten eggs) and sulfuric acid
The oxides are sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide, which when
Oxidation dissolved in water make sulfurous acid and sulfuric acid, re-
spectively
It is chemically reactive, especially upon heating, and combines
Reactivity with almost all the elements. Upon heating, sulfur reacts with
metals, forming the corresponding sulfides
 What are the Physical Properties of Magnesium?
Color Silvery-white metal
Phase Solid
Crystalline struc-
Hexagonal
ture
Ductility It can be beaten into extremely thin sheets
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Luster Exhibits a shine or glow
Hardness Relatively soft
Melting point The melting point is 651°C (1,200°F)
Boiling point Boiling point is 1,100°C (2,000°F)

What are the Chemical Properties of Magnesium?

Chemical Formula Mg
Oxide, hydroxide, chloride, carbonate and sulfate. Also Epsom
Compounds salts (magnesium sulfate heptahydrate) and Milk of Magnesia
(magnesium hydroxide)
Flammability Burns in air with a bright white light
Reactivity Upon heating, magnesium reacts with halogens to yield halides
Alloys Magnesium alloys are light, but very strong
It combines with oxygen at room temperature to form a thin skin
Oxidation
of magnesium oxide
 What are the Physical Properties of Silver?
Color White
Luster Lustrous shine and is capable of a high degree of polish
Ductility It can be beaten into extremely thin sheets
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Excellent electrical and heat conductor. It has the high-
Conductivity
est electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal
Solubility Solubility (ability to be dissolved)
Hardness A relatively soft metal
Density It is a dense metal

What are the Chemical Properties of Silver?

Chemical Formula Ag
Reactivity Silver does not react with O2, N2, or H2 at normal temperatures
A thin film on the surface of silver as a result of oxy-
Oxidation
gen absorption that increases with temperature and pressure
Silver forms complex compounds, most of which are soluble in wa-
Compounds
ter
The extraction from ores requires cyanidation—the dissolution of
Cyanidation silver in an alkaline solution of sodium cyanide with an inlet for
air