Bromine (br): Minerals 27

John's Corner: Bromine (br): Minerals 27 The Elements and What They Do (Part 27) By: John Ferguson 35) Bromine (Br) – The name comes from the Greek word bromos which means stench. We use the name Bromine when this element exists as the molecule Br 2 (two atoms...

Selenium (Se): Minerals 26

John's Corner: Selenium (Se): Minerals 26 The Elements and What They Do (Part 26) By: John Ferguson 34) Selenium (Se) – In general selenium is found in igneous rocks at 0.05 ppm, shale at 0.6 ppm, sandstone and limestone at 0.05-0.08 ppm, fresh water at 0.02...

Germanium (Ge): Minerals 24

John's Corner: Germanium (Ge): Minerals 24 The Elements and What They Do (Part 24) By: John Ferguson 32) Germanium (Ge): Germanium is an element that is known as a metalloid as it has properties in between those of metals and nonmetals, or that it has a mixture of...

Gallium (Ga): Minerals 23

John's Corner: Gallium (Ga): Minerals 23 The Elements and What They Do (Part 23) By: John Ferguson 31) Gallium (Ga) – Gallium is the 34th most abundant element on Earth and is found on average in the earth’s crust at 18 ppm. Gallium is a soft silvery-white...

Zinc (Zn): Minerals 22

John's Corner: Zinc (Zn): Minerals 22 The Elements and What They Do (Part 22) By: John Ferguson 30) Zinc (Zn) – Zinc is a blue-white metal that is brittle when cast, it tarnishes easily, and it chemically reacts with both acids and alkalis.  Zinc was first...

Cooper (Cu): Minerals 21

John's Corner: Cooper (Cu): Minerals 21 The Elements and What They Do (Part 21) By: John Ferguson 29) Copper (Cu) – Copper is a common and very useful metal. It is used to make bronze and brass, copper coins, jewelry, cups and goblets to electrical wiring. ...

Nickel (Ni): Minerals 20

John's Corner: Nickel (Ni): Minerals 20 The Elements and What They Do (Part 20) By: John Ferguson 28) Nickel (Ni) – Nickel is a metal that is in Group 10 of the periodic table which contains what is known as the platinum group metals (palladium, platinum,...

Cobalt (Co): Minerals 19

John's Corner: Cobalt (Co): Minerals 19 The Elements and What They Do (Part 19) By: John Ferguson 27) Cobalt (Co): The name comes from the German word “kobald” which means goblin. Miners mined an ore called “smalite” which is cobalt arsenide...

Iron (Fe): Minerals 18

John's Corner: Iron (Fe): Minerals 18 The Elements and What They Do (Part 18) By: John Ferguson 26) Iron (Fe) – Iron is the fourth most abundant element in the earth’s crust and is a component of many rock forming minerals. Iron is found in igneous rocks...

Manganese (Mn): Minerals 17

John's Corner: Manganese (Mn): Minerals 17 The Elements and What They Do (Part 17) By: John Ferguson 25) Manganese (Mn) – Manganese is a metal found in group 7 of the periodic table of elements. Manganese is a hard brittle silvery metal that will burn in oxygen...