In Your Element!

Take a look around the room. Everything you see is made up of matter. Different types of matter have different properties, or characteristics. Matter can be hard or soft, heavy or light. It can even be invisible, like the air around you.  

All matter is composed of one or more of 118 chemical elements. These substances are the building blocks of everything in the universe—even you! The properties of matter depend on the elements it’s made of.

Take a look around the room. Everything you see is made up of matter. Different types of matter have different properties. Matter can be hard or soft. It can be heavy or light. It can even be invisible, like the air around you. 

All matter is made up of one or more chemical elements. There are 118 of these substances. They’re the building blocks of everything in the universe. Even you are made up of elements! The properties of matter depend on the elements it’s made of.

Elements have different properties too. Some elements are superlight, like lithium. Others, like neon, can glow bright colors!

People use elements with different properties to create new things, from medicines to skyscrapers. “Elements are like the world’s best LEGO^® set,” says Bill Carroll, a chemistry professor at Indiana University Bloomington.

Here are five elements you might meet in your daily life—and what makes them special.

Elements have different properties too. Some elements are really light, like lithium. Others, like neon, can glow bright colors!

People use elements with different properties to create new things. That includes everything from medicines to skyscrapers. “Elements are like the world’s best LEGO^® set,” says Bill Carroll. He’s a chemistry professor. He works at Indiana University Bloomington.

Here are five elements you might meet in your daily life. And here’s what makes them special. 

People have used gold for thousands of years to make precious objects. In ancient Egypt, some kings and queens even had their tombs decorated with gold. Why?

One reason gold has long been considered valuable is that it stays shiny forever! Some elements easily combine with others. They produce chemical reactions that form new substances like rust. Gold doesn’t react easily with other elements. That helps it stay shiny and looking new. “You can find gold coins that have been in the ocean for centuries,” says Susan Richardson, a chemist at the University of South Carolina. “And they’re just as shiny as when they fell in.”

People have used gold for thousands of years to make precious objects. Some kings and queens in ancient Egypt even had their tombs decorated with gold. Why?

One reason gold is so prized is that it stays shiny forever! Some elements easily mix with others. They produce chemical reactions. They form new substances like rust. Gold doesn’t react easily with other elements. That helps it stay shiny and looking new. “You can find gold coins that have been in the ocean for centuries, and they’re just as shiny as when they fell in,” says Susan Richardson. She’s a chemist at the University of South Carolina. 

Have you used a smartphone or laptop today? If so, you’ve probably come across lithium. This silvery white metal is a key ingredient in rechargeable batteries.

Batteries made with lithium are much lighter than batteries made with other metals. In fact, lithium is the lightest metal in the universe. That makes it perfect for electronics, says Daniel Mindiola, a chemistry professor at the University of Pennsylvania. People don’t want to lug around heavy smartphones and laptops!

Have you used a smartphone or laptop today? If so, you’ve probably come across lithium. It’s a silvery white metal. And it’s a key ingredient in rechargeable batteries.

Batteries made with lithium are much lighter than other batteries. In fact, lithium is the lightest metal in the universe. That makes it perfect for electronics, says Daniel Mindiola. He’s a chemistry professor at the University of Pennsylvania. People don’t want to lug around heavy smartphones and laptops!

Yuck! What’s that smell? Rotten eggs, garlic, and farts are all stinky because
of the same element: sulfur.

Sulfur is actually odorless by itself, but it’s not often found that way. Sulfur easily reacts with other elements. So people combine it with other substances to make useful products. Sulfur is used in preservatives to keep food fresh. A chemical reaction involving sulfur causes fireworks to explode! 

But you’re more likely to run across sulfur in burps and farts, says Carroll. “That’s just what sulfur does for a living—it make things smell bad.”

Yuck! What’s that smell? This element makes rotten eggs, garlic, and farts stinky. It’s sulfur.

By itself, sulfur actually doesn’t smell. But it’s not often found that way. Sulfur easily reacts with other elements. So people mix it with other substances. They can end up with useful products. Sulfur is used to make chemicals that keep food fresh. A chemical reaction involving sulfur causes fireworks to explode!

But you’re more likely to run across sulfur in burps and farts, says Carroll. “That’s just what sulfur does for a living. It makes things smell bad.”

What keeps party balloons afloat? Inside those balloons is an element called helium. Helium is a gas at room temperature—a very light gas. It has a lower density than oxygen and the other gases in the air. That’s why a balloon filled with helium will float away if you don’t hold on to the string.

Helium is a liquid at super-cold temperatures. It’s used to keep some machine parts cool. Without helium, certain machines—such as MRI machines that make images of the body’s insides—wouldn’t work! 

What keeps party balloons afloat? Inside those balloons is an element called helium. Helium is a very light gas at room temperature. It has a lower density than oxygen and the other gases in the air. That’s why a balloon filled with helium will float away. So you have to hold on to its string tightly.

Helium is a liquid at super-cold temperatures. It’s used to keep some machine parts cool. Certain machines wouldn’t work without helium. They include MRI machines used by doctors. Those machines make images of the body’s insides.

People have long used iron to construct buildings. That’s because it’s a strong metal and one of the most common elements on Earth.

But iron has one big limitation: When it’s exposed to water and air, it rusts. Rust makes iron brittle. So people have combined iron with other elements to make an alloy called stainless steel. That’s a type of metal that resists rust. 

Iron is also a key nutrient that helps your blood carry oxygen throughout your body. That’s why we need to eat foods rich in iron, like broccoli and spinach.

People have long used iron to construct buildings. That’s because it’s a strong metal. It’s also one of the most common elements on Earth.

But iron has one big downside. It rusts when exposed to water and air. Rust makes iron crumble. So people have mixed iron with other elements. That creates an alloy. It’s called stainless steel. This metal resists rusting.

Iron is also a key nutrient in the body. It helps your blood carry oxygen throughout your body. That’s why we need to eat foods rich in iron. They include broccoli and spinach.