9781422279502

THE CHEMISTRY OF EVERYDAY ELEMENTS

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Silver

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Mason Crest

THE CHEMISTRY OF EVERYDAY ELEMENTS

Aluminum Carbon Gold Helium Hydrogen Oxygen Silicon Silver Understanding the Periodic Table Uranium

THE CHEMISTRY OF EVERYDAY ELEMENTS

47

Silver

By Mari Rich

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com

© 2018 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3837-0 Hardback ISBN: 978-1-4222-3845-5 EBook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7950-2

First printing 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

Produced by Shoreline Publishing Group LLC Santa Barbara, California Editorial Director: James Buckley Jr. Designer: Patty Kelley www.shorelinepublishing.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file with the Publisher.

Cover photographs by Dreamstime.com: Eshmadeva (left); Fireflyphoto (center); Pawel Opaska (right); Steve Heap (background).

QR Codes disclaimer:

You may gain access to certain third party content (“Third-Party Sites”) by scanning and using the QR Codes that appear in this publication (the “QR Codes”). We do not operate or control in any respect any information, prod- ucts, or services on such Third-Party Sites linked to by us via the QR Codes included in this publication, and we assume no responsibility for any materials you may access using the QR Codes. Your use of the QR Codes may be subject to terms, limitations, or restrictions set forth in the applicable terms of use or otherwise established by the owners of the Third-Party Sites. Our linking to such Third-Party Sites via the QR Codes does not imply an en- dorsement or sponsorship of such Third-Party Sites, or the information, prod- ucts, or services offered on or through the Third-Party Sites, nor does it imply an endorsement or sponsorship of this publication by the owners of such Third-Party Sites.

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Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic moments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented here. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text, while building vocabulary skills. KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Discovery and History . . . . . . . . . . 12 Chemical Properties . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Silver and You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Silver Combines . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Silver in Our World . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Find Out More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Series Glossary of Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Index/Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

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Silver: INTRODUCTION

Introduction

W hen you woke up this morning and got ready to start your day, did you look in the mirror? Did you put on a favorite piece of jewelry before having some breakfast? If you were in a hurry, perhaps you just quickly shoveled in some cereal with a big spoon while checking your cell phone for text messages. You were able to do all of that because of elements. Every single thing around you—the solids, liquids, and gases—is composed of elements of the periodic table. The pe- riodic table is an arrangement of all the naturally occurring,

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND isotope an atom of a specific element that has a different number of neutrons; it has the same atomic number but a different atomic mass

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No picture, no people, no book, no readers—without the help of elements.

and manufactured, elements known to humans at this point in time. An element is a substance that cannot be broken down into other, sepa- rate, substances. There are 92 elements that can be found naturally on Earth and in space. The remaining 26 (and counting) have been manu- factured and analyzed in a laboratory setting. These elements, alone or in combination with others, form and shape all the matter around us. From the air we breathe, to the water we drink, to the food we eat—all these things are made of elements. (As you’ll soon see, your mirror, jewelry, spoon, and phone have one particular element in common!) We can learn a lot about an element just by finding its location on the periodic table. The periodic table has undergone several updates

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and reorganizations since it was first developed in 1869, until it be- came the modern version of the table used today. The periodic table is arranged into rows and columns by increasing atomic number. Each element has a unique atomic number. It is the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom. For example, helium has an atomic number of 2—there are two protons in the nucleus of an atom of helium. (All samples of an element have the same number of protons, but they may have a different number of neutrons in the nucleus. Atoms with

The diagram on the left shows the two protons of helium. On the right, the number at the bottom is the atomic weight of an atom of the element.

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Periodic Table

The Periodic Table of the Elements is arranged in numerical order. The number of each element is determined by the number of protons in its nucleus. The horizontal rows are called periods. The number of the ele- ments increases across a period, from left to right. The vertical columns are called groups. Groups of elements share similar characteristics. The colors, which can vary depending on the way the creators design their version of the chart, also create related collections of elements, such as noble gases, metals, or nonmetals, among others.

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the same number of protons but different number of neutrons are called isotopes .) Each element on the periodic table is unique, having its own chemical and physical properties. Certain chemical properties can be interpreted based on which group or row an element is placed. The periodic table also gives important information such as the number of

Silver sometimes is formed into bars, which are stamped with their purity levels.

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protons and neutrons in the nucleus of one atom of an element, the number of electrons that surround the nucleus, the atomic mass, and the general size of the atom. It is also possible to predict which state of matter an element is designated by a chemical symbol—the letters that represent the element. The periodic table is a very useful tool as one begins to investigate chemistry and science in general. (For lots more on the periodic table, read Understanding the Periodic Table , an- other book in this series.) This book is about the element silver. Silver, which has been highly prized for centuries, has 47 protons and 47 electrons. Silver is a solid under standard conditions. How is silver a part of our lives? It’s what turns a piece of glass into a mirror, to give one everyday example, and some of your jewelry might contain the soft, shiny metal. Because it was used in the past to make U.S. currency, you may even own a few old silver coins. You might not realize that silver is also a component in many electronic devices, appliances, medicines, and other products that we regularly count on. Modern life, as we know it, would be very different without silver.

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The Chemistry of Everyday Elements

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WORDS TO UNDERSTAND alchemist a person who practiced a science that was used in the Middle Ages that had the goal of transforming ordinary metals into gold alloy a metal formed by combining two or more elements archaeologist a scientist who studies human history through the artifacts left by ancient people lode a supply of ore that is embedded between layers of rock ore a type of rock from which a metal or mineral can be extracted slag heap a hill made from the waste material from a mine

Silver: CHAPTER 1

Discovery and History

S ome elements have interesting or exciting stories connected to their discovery. For example, phospho- rus, which can be found on the periodic table at num- ber 15, was identified in 1669 by German alchemist Hennig Brand. He was attempting to find the philosopher’s stone, a legendary object that was said to be capable of turn- ing metals like lead and iron into gold. During one experiment, Brand boiled down 1,500 gallons of urine that he had somehow gathered from the beer drinkers in his town. The result was a waxy, light-colored substance that glowed in the dark. While he had not found the secret of making gold, Brand had discov- ered a new element. He named it phosphorus, which is what ancient peoples called the planet Venus. That name came from

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the Greek words phôs (light) and phoros (bearer). There are no colorful stories like that about silver. That’s be- cause people discovered it and began using it in prehistoric times–before events got written down.

In the Beginning

Archaeologists believe that silver was first mined more than 5,000 years ago. They have discovered slag heaps near an- cient mines in Greece and Asia

The early Anatolian people who left this statue also mined silver.

Minor. (Asia Minor was also known as Anatolia, and that area now makes up modern-day Turkey.) Experts think that silver was one of the first metals discovered and used by humans. Other early discover- ies are gold, copper, lead, and iron.

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