Why is this element important in everyday life?
Water is the most abundant hydrogen containing compound. Combined with carbon and oxygen, hydrogen is present in all starches, sugars, fats, and proteins. These complex compounds are abundant in living tissues. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum products, such as gasoline, also contain hydrogen.
Hydrogen combines directly with a number of metallic and nonmetal elements with chlorine, it forms hydrogen chloride(HCl). Because it loses its single electron easily, hydrogen is a good reducing agent.
The chief industrial use of hydrogen is in the production of ammonia by the Haber process. Another important use of hydrogen is in the hydrogenation of unsaturated oils, making them into solid or semisolid fats. In liquid form, hydrogen is an important rocket fuel.
Where is this element found in nature?
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. Free, or elemental, hydrogen is very rare on Earth, but compounds of hydrogen are common. They account for about one percent of the Earth's crust. Hydrogen does not occur free in nature. It is found as a component of water, acids, fuel gases, and living tissues.
What are the properties of the element?
General Characteristics =
Hydrogen usually appears at the top of Group 1 in the periodic table. Hydrogen is not a metal, it is a nonmetal, nor is it a conductor of heat or electricity. Like the alkali metals, however hydrogen does react with the halogens. Hydrogen has no color and no odor and it is not radioactive.
Atomic Symbol = H
Period Number = 1
Group Number and Family Name = Group # 1 . Hydrogen is placed in the group 1s1, but it doesn't belong with any other family.
Atomic Number = 1
Atomic Mass =1.0080 grams
Density = solid = 0.08988 g/l
liquid = 0.070 g/l
Melting Point = (-259.14 degrees Celsius)
Boiling Point = (-252.8 degrees Celsius)
Electron Configuration = 1s1
Shorthand Notation = N/A
Common Reactions =The major use of hydrogen is in the manufacture of ammonia. Large volumes of hydrogen, however, are used in the conversion of vegetable oils, such as peanut and coconut oil into solid fats. This process called hydrogenation, involves treating an oil with hydrogen at a high temperature and pressure in the prescence of a catalyst, solid shortenings, and margarine are produced in this way. The most commercial hydrogen comes from the reaction between steam and methane, CH4, also known as natural gas.
Interesting Information =In 1776, the English scientist Henry Cavendish (1731-1810), first recognized hydrogen gas as a distinct substance using Greek words meaning "water former," Lavoisier later gave hydrogen its name.
Naturally occurring hydrogen is composed of three isotopes. The most abundant isotope is protium. It is commonly called hydrogen. Protium (Hydrogen-1) and deuterium (Hydrogen-2) account for approximately 99.98 percent and 0.02 percent of a sample, respectively. Tritium, an unstable form of hydrogen is present in extremely small amounts.
In some periodic tables, hydrogen also appears at the top of Group 7. This position has some validity, because, like the halogens. Hydrogen has one electron less then helium, the noble gas it precedes. Like the halogens, hydrogen reacts with the alkali metals. Thus, hydrogen is unique.
Who is ?
Hello, my name is Mr. Hydrogen. I've been called Mr. Helium, Mr. Boron, or even Mrs. Lithium. I just wanted to clear up a few things. I am a nonmetal, a unique one. Mrs. Lithium and Mr. Boron are metals. I am considered to be the most abundant element in the universe. I am ver rare on Earth, but compounds of me are very common. Can you say the same for Mr. Helium? I am colorless and odorless and I'm not radioactive. As for Mr. Helium, or any other element, it is not important. I am at the top of everything. I'm the first element in the first group, in the first period, with the first, smallest average atomic mass. I am needed in everyday life and without me you can't be kept alive. You need me to make water(H2 O). Can Mr. Helium keep you alive?
