All About Elements: Helium 1 Ward’s All About Elements Series Building Real-World Connections to Fun Facts the Building Blocks of Chemistry About…Helium 2 1. Helium is the second most abundant ele- PERIODIC TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS GROUP 1/IA 18/VIIIA ment after hydrogen in the universe and 1 2 H KEY He solar system. Approximately 11.3% of all Atomic Number 1.01 2/IIA 35 13/IIIA 14/IVA 15/VA 16/VIA 17/VIIA 4.00 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 atoms in the universe are helium atoms. Li Be Symbol Br B C N O F Ne 6.94 9.01 79.90 Atomic Weight 10.81 12.01 14.01 16.00 19.00 20.18 When this number is added to the 88.6% of 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar the atoms in the universe that are hydrogen, 8 9 10 22.99 24.31 3/IIIB 4/IVB 5/VB 6/VIB 7/VIIB VIIIBVIII 11/IB 12/IIB 26.98 28.09 30.97 32.07 35.45 39.95 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 scientists conclude that at least 99.9% of all K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr 39.10 40.08 44.96 47.87 50.94 52.00 54.94 55.85 58.93 58.69 63.55 65.41 69.72 72.64 74.92 78.9678.96 79.90 83.80 atoms in the universe are either hydrogen or 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 He Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe helium atoms. 85.47 87.62 88.91 91.22 92.91 95.94 (97.91)(98) 101.07 102.91 106.42 107.87 112.41 114.82 118.71 121.76 127.60 126.90 131.29 55 56 57–71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 Cs Ba La-Lu Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn ´ 132.91 137.33 178.49 180.95 183.84 186.21 190.23 192.22 195.08 196.97 200.59 204.38 207.20207.2 208.98 (208.98)(209) (209.99)(210) (222.02)(222) 87 88 89–103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 2. Helium was discovered in the Sun’s Fr Ra AcAc-Lr - Lr Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Uub Uut Uuq Uup Uuh Uus Uuo atmosphere before it was found on Earth. ´´ (223.02)(223) (226.03)(226) (261.11)(261) (262.11)(262) (266.12)(266) (264.12)(264) (277.00)(277) (268.14)(268) (247.07)(269) (280.00)(272) (285.00)(285) (284.00)(284) (289.00)(289) (288.00)(288) (293.00)(289) (294.00) (294.00)(294) 4.00 ´ 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu 3. Helium exists in Earth’s atmosphere only 138.91 140.12 140.91 144.24 (144.91)(145) 150.36 151.97151.96 157.25 158.93 162.50 164.93 167.26 168.93 173.04 174.97 US: www.wardsci.com Canada: www.wardsci.ca ´´ 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 800-962-2660 because it is constantly resupplied by the decay of radioactive elements on earth, such as © 2010 Rev. 7/15 Ward’s Science. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr or by any means without express prior written permission from Ward’s Science. (227.03)(227) 232.04232.04 231.04 238.03 (237.05)(237) (244.06)(244) (243.06)(243) (247.07)(247) (247.07)(247) (251.08)(251) (252.08)(252) (257.10)(257) (258.10)(258) (259.10)(259) (262.11)(262) US: www.scholarchemistry.com Canada: www.scholarchemistry.ca NOTES: Black — solid Red — gas Blue — liquid — synthetically prepared 866-260-0501 uranium and thorium. © Copyright 2010 ScholAR Chemistry. All Rights Reserved. Values provided are based on the 85th edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Some values have been rounded. BASICNo portion PERIODIC of this work TABLE may be reproduced- SIDE 1 (Rev.in any form7/15) or by any means without express prior written permission from ScholAR Chemistry. Catalog #9630200 4. The helium we used today is is harvested through the same process that natural gas A chemical element is the simplest form of matter that scientists can work with is harvested. directly. All of the more complex substances are composed of elements in vari- ous combinations. But have you ever inquired about the properties of each of 5. The “lighter than air” properties of helium make it perfect for inflating party balloons, weather those individual chemical building blocks? Our universe is composed of trillions balloons, blimps and even the massive balloons seen each year in the Macy Thanksgiving Day of substances that are all differing compositions of a finite number of elements. Parade. In fact, to fill 15 of the balloons that are seen walking the streets of New York, organiz- In this email series, we will delve deeper into each of the elements in order to ers had to use approximately 300,000 cubic feet of helium. This is the equivalent volume of 2.2 gain more insight into their properties and uses and the substances they are million gallons of milk.tion, or hydrogen combining with oxygen. The reaction is equivalent used to create. to burning hydrogen; however it is much slower and more controlled and produces electrical energy to power the vehicle instead of heat. In our All About Elements series, we’ve brought together the most fascinating facts and figures about your favorite elements so students can explore their All About properties and uses in the real world and you can create chemistry connections in your classroom and beyond. Helium: Helium is the second element on the Periodic Table of Elements. It is the Look for a new featured element each month, plus first noble gas that we encounter on limited-time savings on select hands-on materials our trip around the table, and that means that it is also an inert gas. Inert to incorporate these element in your lessons. means that the element is not very active, and will not combine with Facebook “f” Logo CMYK / .eps Facebook “f” Logo CMYK / .eps Sign up to receive Ward’s other elements or compounds. As Follow us on: OR a matter of fact, there have been no Science emails at wardsci.com compounds of helium ever made! The and get a new element in your inbox reason that helium and all other noble each month. gases are inert is because they have Large Hadron Collider completely filled electron shells. They do not need any other electrons to “feel complete.” But do not assume that helium is boring just because it does not Check back often at wardsci.com/elements for the latest content form compounds with other elements. Helium may be colorless, odorless and and exclusive savings on new teaching tools each month. tasteless, but it shows up in exciting process such as semiconductors, birthday balloons, welding and the Large Hadron Collider just to name a few. wardsci.com | 800-962-2660 2 3 Properties of Helium In addition to being the second element on the Periodic Table, it is also the second most abundant element in the universe. Only Hydrogen is more abundant! These two elements were copiously formed during the creation of the universe. In the early stages of the universe, helium and hydrogen nuclei were actually formed. No atoms were formed until about 300,000 years after the Big Bang took place, when the universe became cold enough to form electrons that would combine with existing nuclei to form atoms. The helium nuclei that were originally created still exist today in two different forms. The first is helium-4. Helium-4 has two protons and two neutrons. The second is helium-3, which also has 2 protons but only has 1 neutron. Where in the World is Helium? Helium-4 and helium-3 are both being made each day inside every star in the sky due to nuclear fusion reactions between hydrogen nuclei. It is no surprise then that about 1 out of every 10 atoms or nuclei in For nearly 30 years, chemists and physicists were baffled by this mystery element that was identified on the universe is that of helium. It is estimated that about 11.3% of the atoms in the universe and solar system the Sun but could not be found on Earth. It wasn’t until 1895 when Scottish chemist William Ramsay found are helium atoms. When this number is added to the approximate 88.6% of the hydrogen atoms in the helium when he isolated the gas that was formed when mixing uranium ore with acids. Although Ramsay universe, scientists estimate that at least 99.9% of all of the atoms in the universe are either hydrogen or was searching for argon, he analyzed the gas sample produced and realized that the spectrum matched that helium atoms! of Lockyer’s helium.