O, We Need This Element! By Bradley and Cristina

Oxygen

    Oxygen is a nonmetal. It is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas in its common gas state. Oxygen is extremely reactive and reacts with almost every element on the Periodic Table except the noble gases. Oxygen has a melting point of 54.8 K and a boiling point of 90.2 K. Oxygen also has a liquid and solid form which are both blue and strongly paramagnetic.

Oxygen is used by plants, animals and humans for respiration everyday. The commercial use of oxygen is mainly in the Steel Industry to remove carbon impurities. Oxygen is also used in cylinders to help humans breathe at high altitudes, underwater and even out of the Earth’s atmosphere in Outer Space. Oxygen is also used in part of the Earth's Ozone Layer to help protect life from the suns harmful rays.    

Oxygen was first independently discovered by Joseph Priestly and Carl Wilhelm. Although, Priestly in 1772, is usually given the credit for discovering oxygen. Antoine Lavoisier, french chemist, first recognized oxygen as an element and gave it the name

oxygen in 1775. Oxygen was discovered when Carl Wilhelm was doing an experiment. Red hot manganese oxide produced a gas, he called the gas “fire air”, because of all the sparks.

 Oxygen in a gaseous state is found in the Earth’s atmosphere. Most of the Earth’s Ocean is of the compound water. You can also find oxygen in the Earth’s crust. To obtain pure oxygen it has to be extracted from other compounds.

 Oxygen is a pretty easy element to obtain. It is the third most abundant element in the universe. It also accounts for half of the earth’s crust. I mean where would w

e stand, without it? Nine tenths of the mass of water is oxygen. On a final note, everyone needs oxygen to survive! That is reason enough to keep it on the island! At this very moment while reading this you are breathing in oxygen!

Everybody Loves Magnesium by Brian Cwalinski and Steve Casale

Magnesium
Magnesium is a definite metal. Magnesium is one of the most abundant elements on the face of the earth. It is the eighth most abundant element on earth.

Magnesium is necessary to complete more than 300 biochemical reactions in the human body. Its also used in flashbulbs, electronics, fireworks, flares, incendiary bombs, and used in making airplanes.
           
  Lockhead F-80C: Complete magnesium                        Sikorsky S-56: 115 kg of magnesium
construction.

                                    
TU-95MS: 1550 kg of magnesium


Magnesium was discovered by Joseph Black in 1755. He discovered it by examining two compounds of magnesia and lime, which some people thought were the same things but he discovered were different and that magnesium was its own compound.
                   
              Joseph Black

Magnesium is found in seawater, food, and your own body. Over a hundred different minerals hold magnesium. Over a hundred different minerals hold magnesium. Dolomite and magnesite are the two minerals that have the highest amount of magnesium. It can also be found in steel and aluminum since it is the most commonly used metal to create these two man made products. Electronic products like cell phones, computers, fire starters, and old flashlight bulbs all contain magnesium. Magnesium is very reactive so it is almost never found in its purest form. Therefore, it is commonly found in an evolved state.

Magnesium is one of the most important elements because it helps treat many disorders. Magnesium is used to treat attention deficit disorder, anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, diabetes, kidney stones, migraine headaches, weak bones, altitude sickness, asthma, and helps prevent hearing loss. Athletes also use magnesium to increase energy and endurance. People also use it for skin treatment and for a faster healing process. Magnesium burns at high temperatures with a brilliant white light which makes it popular for fireworks. For future uses, it can be used on cars. This can help because if they use more magnesium alloy on cars the cars will be less weight and be more efficient on gas. This makes this element more important than it already is, due to the rising price on gas.

Potassium By: Harris Outland and Emily Graziano

If potassium was to leave the periodic table, that would not be oK. Potassium is a soft silver like metal. Potassium is one of the most reactive and electropositive of metals. Potassium’s melting point 63.25 degrees celsius. Another fact about potassium is that it is quite easy to cut with a knife, just because it is easy to cut does not mean it is easy to kick off!

Potassium was discovered in 1807 by Sir Humphry Davy of Penzance Cornwall, England. born in December 17, 1778.  In his early life, Davy was apprentice to a surgeon apothecary.  He did many other experiments with many other elements.

When people think of potassium they think of bananas and other fruits.  This is good to know because with the lack of potassium a disease called Hypokalemia which literally means lack of potassium.  It’s caused by low levels of potassium in your blood.  Not only can potassium prevent disease, but it also is good for your balance of pH levels in your body fluids.

Potassium also plays an important role in plants as well.  Without the potassium in the ground the plants will not function correctly.  The potassium regulates the stomata present in plant cells of enzymes.  

Potassium is not only good for the body, but for the industries as well.  One can think of potassium as a helping element.  Potassium is used as a desiccant to produce various dry solvents.  Combined with other elements it can be used to make inks, dyes, and fly paper.  So this element with definitely stick to the periodic table!

In addition to these products potassium can make a number of bases, like soap and drain cleaners.

Sodium, The necessity. by Brian Fallon and Tony Gurnari.

Sodium is a metal. It is part of  the alkali metals family. Alkali metals are known to be reactive and tend to have a shiny color. They are solid at room temperature and are soft enough to be able to be cut with a knife. Sodium has a cubic structure and has a silvery/white shiny color. Like all of the other alkali metals sodium is a solid at room temperature and is soft. sodium is less dense than water which means it floats. when being burned sodium omits a bright yellow flame and is highly reactive to other elements. But we can assure you that sodium is an essential element for everyday life and we as humans need it everyday.

Sodium reacts with snow, ice, and water to produce the gas hydrogen. As we all know, we need hydrogen as humans to breathe and function. It mixes with other elements to make organic compounds. Sodium is a good conductor of transferring heat and electricity. But most importantly, sodium is needed in the human body. Sodium regulates electrical signals that travel through the nervous system and regulates body function. it also helps to balance water between cells and fluids.

Sodium was discovered by a professor named Sir Humphrey Davy. He discovered the element in his lab in London, England in the year of 1807. He discovered the element by isolating the sodium by electrolysis of molten sodium hydroxide and sodium chloride.

            Sodium can not be found by itself in nature. it is found under the surface and makes up approximately 2.6 of the earths interior crust. It is found mixed with other elements and minerals in nature and to get sodium alone you must process the mixture in a factory from sodium chloride and sodium hydroxide.  Although I can assure you, sodium may be a bit of time and work to get, the reward is worth it.

Sulfur By Brooke Chesik and Paul Stefani

Sulfur
Symbol: S
Atomic Number: 16
Atomic Mass: 32.6 u
Density: 2.07

     Sulfur is a non-metal. It is a non-metal because it has multiple properties of non-metals. Elemental sulfur is a yellow crystalline sulfur at room temperature. Sulfur is a poor conductor of heat and electricity. Sulfur is both dull and brittle at solid form. Also it has a low density and volume compared to metals.

      Sulfur has been known since prehistoric time. In modern times Sulfur was convinced to be an element and not a compound by Antoine Lavoisier in 1777.Sulfur is found in nature in mineral springs, meteorites, volcanoes, and ores.

      Sulfur is a component of gunpowder and is also used in the making of rubber. It is used in making several kinds of paper and as a bleaching agent. One of sulfur’s most important compound is sulfuric acid. It is used in applications of fungicide and in fertilizer. Sulfur compounds can be highly toxic, however, are essential for life. Sulfur is greatly used in biochemical processes and metabolic reactions. Sulfur compounds serve as both fuels and respiratory materials for simple organisms. Sulfur is a component in amino acids which are essential to human beings.

     Sulfur is critical for humans to help the body detoxify and regenerate new tissue. The sulfur cycle plays an important role in the regeneration of cells. From this Sulfur is an important factor in the future to potentially cure disease. Its value and its potential makes it an essential element the world needs. Finally, your heart will not beat without sulfur.

Aluminum by David Jobs and Courtney Christiano

       Aluminum is a solid, not usually found by itself in nature. Aluminum is very conductive, meaning it conductucts heat and electricity very well. It is also vey Ductile and malleable, which allows the element to be bent or hammered into a shape (electrical wire). It is remarkable for its ability to resist corrosion due to the phenomenon of passivation (when a material becomes passive, or becomes less affected by environmental factors like air or water.

        Aluminum is good because it is used to make auto and airplane parts. Without it there would be no cars or airplanes. It is used to protect your house from weathering conditions like rain, wind, and snow. It is used to make siding and roofing on your home, along with being used to make window frames. It is also used, because aluminum is excellent at conducting electricity, to make light bulbs and electrical wire. Other elements would be a risk of starting a fire, not being able to be shaped, and not conducting enough electricity. Also used to make aluminum baseball bats.

       Aluminum was discovered in 1825 by a Danish chemist and physicists teacher Hans Christian Dersted. He developed a way to extract small amounts of aluminum from alum by having anhydrous aluminum chloride react with potassium amalgam. This produces a big chunk of metal with properties similar to the likes of tin.

       Aluminum is found all over the world, but mostly in Ghana, Indonesia, and Jamaica but it is found only in chemical compounds with other elements. These elements include sulfur, silicon, and oxygen. Pure metallic aluminum can be economically produced from aluminum oxide ore.

       Aluminum can easily be recycled because the surface quickly oxidizes to form an invisible barrier to corrosion. Aluminum is one of the most abundant element in the world and the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust. Without it the crust and everything above it wouldn’t exist.

 By Gary Dibileo and Patrick Laabs

Silicon, a tetravalent metalloid, is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number of 14. It is found on the periodic table in group 14 and period 3. It was found in 1824 by Jöns Jacob Berzelius. It was named in 1831 by a Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson in 1831. Crystalline silicon (found in quartz) was produced for the first time in 1854 by Henri Beville. It is the 7th most abundant element in the universe and the 2nd most abundant element in earth’s crust. It is a solid at room temperature with a melting point of 1683.15 Kelvin and a boiling point of 2628.15 Kelvin. Most Silicon is used commercially without being separated. Silicon has a large impact on the modern world economy. It’s used in steel refining, aluminum casting, and fine chemical industries. It could also be made into a silicon rubber, heat resisting resins, lubricants, and water resistant films. Another reason why its important is because silicon burning is the last phase of a star’s life before a supernova. Silicon can be found in computers, in the grains of sand on beaches, in bricks, and in concrete. Silicon has an atomic mass of 28.0855. Its electron configuration is Ne 3s2 3p2.

This is crystalline silicon. It is normally found in quartz. As said in the first paragraph, it was first found and produced by by the scientist Henri Beville in 1854.The small crystals can cause health problems such as bronchitis, COPD, and can lead to tuberculosis if inhaled. However, this only occurs after extended exposure to crystalline silica.

This is unrefined Silicon. Apart from oxygen, silicon is much more abundant than any other element. Silicon forms compounds with 64 out of 96 stable elements and possibly form silicides with 18 other elements. It is nontoxic and does no harm to people animals or plants
   






These are all reasons why Silicon should stay on the periodic table and be the number 1 element. One reason is because silicon has many forms. For example Silicon Carbide(SiC) is nearly as hard as an abrasive. Sodium Silicate(Na2SiO3) also known as water glass, is used in the production of soap, adhesives and an egg preservative. Silicon tetrachloride(SiCl4) is used to create smoke screens.