A new periodic table song is a fun way for kids to learn about the elements. It’s a great addition to songs like They Might Be Giants’ Meet the Elements and Tom Lehrer’s classic.
This video by Asapscience teaches about the Periodic Table of the elements with its catchy tune and creative visuals. The song starts with Hydrogen and Helium, then moves on to elements such as Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Fluorine, and Neon.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe. It is present in water, plants and animals as well as in fossil fuels like natural gas. Hydrogen is also produced by nuclear fusion in the Sun and other stars. It is used to produce ammonia and methanol, to hydrogenate vegetable oils and to refine petroleum.
On Earth, it is a colorless, odorless gas formed into diatomic molecules, H2. Atomic hydrogen reacts quickly with many metals to form hydrides.
Helium
Helium is an inert, colorless, and odorless gas that’s lighter than air. It’s available in pressurised tanks and used to inflate balloons and create high-speed flight. Breathing helium can cause a squeaky voice.
Helium was first identified as a new element in 1868 by French astronomer Pierre Janssen during a solar eclipse and English astronomer Norman Lockyer, who saw the same yellow spectral line signature with his spectroscope. Helium’s low density, inertness and thermal conductivity make it useful for technologies like superconductors.
Lithium
Lithium (Li) is a silvery-white alkali metal that is the lightest solid element. It is found in ores such as petalite, brine deposits, and mineral springs.
It is used in lithium carbonate, a drug that inhibits the manic phase of bipolar disorder. It is also used in batteries and nuclear reactors.
Lithium and cobalt are key elements in electric car batteries and could become scarce as demand increases, researchers warn.
Beryllium
Beryllium (Be) is a metallic element that belongs to the alkaline earth family. It is found primarily in the mineral beryl, which is used for jewelery and structural materials.
It is one of the lightest metals and has many desirable properties, including resistance to corrosion and ductility. It is almost transparent to X-rays and used in windows for radiation machines.
Pure beryllium and its compounds are toxic when inhaled and can cause lung disease. This can be treated with medication, oxygen therapy or lung transplants.
Boron
Boron is a brittle, dark, metallic, semimetal. It is not found in nature in elemental form, except as part of meteoroids. It is found combined with oxygen in a number of minerals such as boric acid, sodium perborate and the commercially important borate mineral borax.
Boron is used in the manufacture of fiberglass insulation and flat panel displays. It is also an active ingredient in some wood preservatives.
Carbon
Named from the Latin carbo, meaning charcoal, carbon is found in all living things. It also forms long chains and rings, such as benzene (named after its strong smell), that form the basis of organic chemistry.
Ask students to discuss the objects around them that contain carbon—for example, their clothing and the carbonated beverage they might be sipping. Also point out that carbon can move between the Earth’s four spheres.
Nitrogen
Nitrogen (N) is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that makes up 78% of Earth’s atmosphere. It is part of all living organisms and found in all proteins.
Molecular nitrogen is difficult to break apart because of its strong triple bond between two atoms. It is therefore chemically inert under normal conditions. It is also used to form nitrous oxide as an anesthetic and to preserve biological specimens.
Oxygen
Oxygen (O) is the element that keeps most of life on Earth humming. It is found as a gas in the atmosphere, as a liquid in water, and as a solid in rocks.
Its atomic number is 8, and it forms a pair with hydrogen to form a chemical compound called dioxygen, or O2. It is colorless and odorless as a gas at normal temperatures and pressures.
Fluorine
Fluorine is the most electronegative halogen and the lightest member of its group on the periodic table. This poisonous, greenish-yellow gas is found in many household items such as toothpaste and refrigerants.
It is also found in corrosive compounds such as hydrofluoric acid (HF), which has the chemical formula of KHF2. It is the 13th most abundant element in Earth’s crust.
Neon
Neon (pronounced neh-ON) is one of the noble gases, along with helium, argon, and krypton. It conducts electricity and lights up when charged with a current. It is also odorless, colorless, and monatomic (exists as individual atoms).
Many people are familiar with neon thanks to the illuminated signs it powers across the world. It is a rare and expensive gas. It was discovered in 1898 by chemists William Ramsay and Morris Travers after cooling a sample of air into a liquid and capturing its components as they evaporated.
