Element project: Lithium

Citation Page

(February 27, 2015) Lithium. Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium#History

Lithium picture. retrieved from http://honorsph.startlogic.com/honorsphysicalscience/periodictrends/images/Li_atom.gif

Periodic table. Retrieved from Periodic table. Retrieved from http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/1371846764_periodic_table_of_elements.jpg

lithium chemical reaction. Retrieved from https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQH63Xb6dtwLslO2YgXyp4i-U0oCzokaHOd34ENXrYnzwjFeQmNFg

Lithium lewis dot diagram. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Lewis_dot_Li.svg/600px-Lewis_dot_Li.svg.png

Lithium bohr diagram. retrieved from http://honorsph.startlogic.com/honorsphysicalscience/periodictrends/images/Li_atom.gif

The first major application of lithium was in high-temperature lithium greases for aircraft engines or similar applications in World War II and shortly after. The demand for lithium increased dramatically during the Cold War with the production of nuclear fusion weapons. Both lithium-6 and lithium-7 produce tritium when irradiated by neutrons, and are thus useful for the production of tritium by itself, as well as a form of solid fusion fuel used inside hydrogen bombs in the form of lithium deuteride.

This is what lithium would look like on a Lewis dot diagram:

And this is what it would look like on a Bohr diagram:

An example of a chemical reaction with lithium would be when you put some lithium in water, in which it will start to move around the water, eventually catching on fire.

In 1817, Johan August Arfwedson, then working in the laboratory of the chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, detected the presence of a new element while analyzing petalite ore. Berzelius gave the alkaline material the name "lithion/lithina", from the Greek word for stone, lithos.

As stated earlier, lithium has 1 valence electron, which means, when chemical bonding, it will give away 1 valence electron to something like flourine, which has 7 valence electrons.

These are some of lithium's physical properties. Lithium is a very good conductor of heat and electricity, and it is also a very highly reactive metal. Lithium can be cut with a knife, even though it is a metal. Lithium's density is very samll, at 0.534 g/cm cubed.

These are some of lithium's chemical properties. Lithium reacts with water easily, but with noticeably less energy than other alkali metals do. When placed over a flame, lithium compounds give off a striking crimson color, but when it burns strongly the flame becomes a brilliant silver. Lithium will ignite and burn in oxygen when exposed to water or water vapors.

Naturally occuring lithium is composed of two stable isotopes, 6 Li and 7 Li, with the latter being more abundant, having a 92.5% abundancy. Lithium also has 1 positively charged ion.

Like the other alkali metals, lithium has a single valence electron that is easily given up to form a cation. Because of this, it is a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as a highly reactive element, although it is the least reactive of the alkali metals. Reactivity isn't all there is to an element, though.

Lithium has 3 electrons,

3 protons, and 4 neutrons.

It also has 1 valence electron. It is in period 3 and group 1 of the periodic table. It is in the alkali metals family, making it highly reactive. It's atomic number is three, and it's atomic mass unit is 6.941. As I mentioned earlier, of the elements, it is one of the most reactive.

Element project on:

Lithium is the Third element on the periodic table. The word lithium actually comes from the greek word for stone, "lithos".

Lithium

By Dillon Grubbich