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Article: Name that element! It's the world's most powerful element, fueling both nuclear weapons and power plants. Our mystery element is softer than steel, denser than lead, and has existed for more than 6.6 billion years--longer than Earth itself. Can you name it? For help, grab a periodic table and follow these eight clues. Then turn the page to test your "element IQ." (Physical science: chemistry).
- Article from:
- Science World
- Article date:
- December 13, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CLUE 1 A ROCK START
The element's silver-white metal is found nearly everywhere--soil, plants, water. But it's most abundant in rocks, where it combines with other elements to form crystals of naturally occurring chemicals called minerals, or ores. Its most common ore: a marblelike rock called pitchblende.
GOT IT ALREADY? SCORE 100 POINTS. IF NOT, READ CLUE #2
CLUE 2 IN THE MIX
In nature it exists as a mixture of three different forms or isotopes. An atom of each isotope shares an equal number of positively charged protons, but a different number of neutrons (uncharged atomic particles). The isotope pictured at right was extracted from ...