Overview of Aluminum

886 Words2 Pages

Aluminum (Al)

The Element

The name comes from the Latin word alumen, for the mineral alum. The electron configuration is [Ne] 3s2 3p1. The element looks solid at room temperature and is a classification of other metals. Its crystal structure is cubic. Aluminum is not an element found in nature, it is found in the earth’s crust which is 8.2 percent of it. Aluminum is obtained from rocks called bauxite. It is the most available element. In the beginning, scientist suspected it was in the earth’s crust. There were many chemists who produced aluminum. The very first was Hans Christian Oersted in 1825. Its color is silvery-white with a bluish tint. The element is soft but it becomes strong and hard when combined with other elements. The atomic number of it is 13, which means that the atom has 13 protons therefore 13 electrons. It has 14 neutrons. The atomic weight is 26.98154. The melting point is 660.37 degrees Celsius. The boiling point is 2467 degrees Celsius. As for the atomic structure, the element has three energy levels. The first has 2, the second has 8 and the third has 3.

Compounds formed by the Element

A very important compound is dialuminum oxide Al2O3. The structure of dialuminum oxide is sometimes hexagonal. The structure is .It is one of the hardest substances known. It is formed by natural occurrence. Dialuminum oxide is formed from the reaction of metallic aluminum with oxygen gas. It is a white crystalline solid. Aluminum chloride has a formula of ALCl3. The structure is . It is mainly produced in the production of aluminum metal. It is white, but samples are often contaminated with iron trichloride, giving it a yellow color. The compound formula for dialuminum sulphide is Al2S3.The structure is . It is a ...

... middle of paper ...

...cs/aluminium/siteus/uses.html>.

"Chemical Elements.com - Aluminum (Al)." Chemical Elements.com - Aluminum (Al). N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. .

Guerra, Tony. "What Is Aluminum Potassium Sulfate Used For?" EHow. Demand Media, 20 July 2011. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. .

National Accelerator Facility, Thomas Jefferson. "The Element Aluminum." It's Elemental -. Office of Science Education, n.d. Web. Mar. 2014. .

"What Is Aluminum Used For? - Curiosity." Curiosity. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. .

"What Is an Atomic Number?" What Is an Atomic Number? N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. .

More about Overview of Aluminum

Open Document