9781422279458

Gold: INTRODUCTION

Striking Gold

L ook around. What do you see? Maybe your pet cat or yesterday’s lunch dishes or that book you’re supposed to read for English class. Outside your window, you might see a car rolling by or a tree losing its leaves. What do you feel? Your breath travels in and out, filling your lungs, while your heart pumps blood around your body. All of those things—the solids, liquids, and gases around you and in- side you—are composed of elements of the periodic table.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND corrode to damage or weaken gradually through a chemical reaction 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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