The Element Sodium

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Sodium is an element on the periodic table with the chemical symbol as Na. Sodium, discovered by the English Chemist Sir Humphry Davy, is in the Alkali Metals group on the Periodic Table and it is a soft, silver/white color. Sodium, which is found in the Earth's crust, is important to society.
Sodium originated from the Arabic word “suda” meaning headache because sodium carbonate was used as a headache remedy. It is also one of the most well-known compounds to ancient people (Newton). It is a component of sodium chloride (NaCl) which is found everywhere in nature (Sodium Lenntech). Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and the second most abundant element dissolved in sea water (Sodium Lenntech). Although sodium is abundant on Earth, it is never found in free nature (The Element). Our bodies need sodium in order to work properly. The body needs sodium to help control the muscles and nerves (Sodium in). The body also uses sodium to control volume and blood pressure. Sodium is a slivery-white metal that always occurs as part of a compound (Newton). It is very easy to cut and when it is cut it changes to a very dull color because it is exposed to oxygen (Sodium Lenntech). Sodium must be stored in a moisture free environment because it is very highly reactive (Element). It has a chemical symbol of Na, and has an atomic mass of 22.99 and a periodic number of three (Bentor). It was founded hundreds of years ago.
Sodium was founded in 1807 by an English Chemist named Sir Humphrey Davy (Bentor). It was found through the electrolysis of caustic soda (The Element). This means that he found a way to extract sodium from compounds (Newton). First Sir Humphrey Davy would extract a number of active elements and then pa...

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...lights and rubber, a coolant for nuclear reactors, and is needed to keep the human body under control and running correctly. Sodium was first founded by Sir Humphry Davy in 1807 and is now used for many different reasons in society.

Works Cited

Bentor, Yinon. “Periodic Table: Sodium,” Chemical Elements.com. 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
“The Element Sodium”. Jefferson Lab. n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Mattes, RD, Donnelly, D. Relative contributions of dietary sodium sources. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 1991 Au; 10 (4): 383-393. “Sodium”. Happy Healthy Long Life. 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Newton, David E. Chemical Elements: from carbon to krypton. Vol. 3. Michigan: Farmington Hills, 1999. Print.
“Sodium in Diet”. Medline Plus. U.S. National Library of Medicine. 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
“Sodium”. Lenntech. n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

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