Silicon-28

Silicon Grace G

The element I researched was called Silicon, also known as Si. Silicon has an atomic number of 14 meaning that there are 14 protons and 14 electrons in this element. This element also has an atomic mass of 28 meaning that the mass of the protons and the neutrons is 28. 14 neutrons are found in this element because twenty eight minus fourteen equals fourteen. I did this to find the number of neutrons because there are 14 protons in the nucleus of this element and protons and neutrons together make a mass of 28. Figure three shows where the protons, electrons, and neutrons are possibly located. In the image the orange balls are the neutrons, the blue balls are the protons, and the small pick balls are the electrons. This element made up of 14 protons, electrons, and neutrons, is classified as a metalloid. Metalloids are elements that aren’t metals but aren’t non-metals, meaning that metalloids have characteristics of metals and non-metals. For example, some metalloids are shiny like metals which are always shiny but only some metalloids are okay conductors like non-metals which cannot be a conductor at all. Figure one shows the raw form of silicon and how it is shiny like a metal. This metalloid also has a density of 2.329g/cm^3 per 293 K of the element, making the element sink in water. Water has a density of one so since the element has a density of more than one it sinks. Finally, silicon is used in glass and in semiconductors. Figure two shows how two glass water bottles which are made up of silicon. Silicon is a great element that contributes to our world but we should be grateful for Jons Berzelius because without him silicon would not have been discovered in 1823.





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