IRON (FE)
BY AUDREY McGUIRE
why did i choose this element? what made me find this element interesting?
i chose this element (iron) because it looked interesting to research and the name was familiar to me but i have never actually known what it does and how it works, so i decided to research it. it looked interesting because i know a little bit about how it works and i wanted to know more.
How did Iron get its name? Does it match up to its abbreviation?
Iron does not match its abbreviation as it got its shortened name by the Latin name for Iron, ferrum. This is why it is abbreviated as FE.
when was Iron discovered?
iron was discovered in South East Asia about 4000 years ago by Dr Doug Stuart and was considered to be more valuable than gold at that time!
Description of Iron- what does it look like?
Pure iron is a bright silvery-white metal which rusts quickly in moist air or in water containing dissolved oxygen. It is soft, malleable and ductile (flexible), and is strongly magnetic.
What are the properties/characteristics of this element? What is it like at room temperature?
Iron’s melting point is 1538°C, and its boiling point is 2861°C! At room temperature Iron is solid, and its density is 7.874 grams per cubic centimeter. The atomic number of iron is 26, and the atomic weight is 55.845. Iron’s element classification is metal. It does not belong to a particular ‘group’. Iron varies in size- below is a photo of of a big meteorite ( 84% of iron) that hit earth in 2006.
Some unusual things about iron
One unusual thing I noticed about iron is that it changes its form due to the conditions it is put in- at room temperature, it is solid, but when in other types of conditions it can become quite ductile and soft. Another strange thing i discovered when researching was that we all actually need to have iron in our body order to function properly! Iron comes from most meats that we consume, and apparently also some vegetables.
Facts about iron
- There is enough iron in the earth to make 3 new planets, each with the same mass of mars
- One third of the earth's mass is believed to be iron- which is believed to lie deep within the earth's core
- Iron was the first magnetic metal discovered