Metals Research-Story of Alkali

In Science, we were tasked to make a project about metals. I chose to write a small story about the Alkali metal family:

Alkali metals: we lie on the left side of the periodic table, There are 6 of us, and we all work together in harmony. We are the first periodic table group. You could even call us a family! We are called alkali metals because we form alkalis (strong bases that can neutralize acids) when we react with water. We are very ductile, and conduct energy with little to no effort. We have a low melting point and we react most easily with oxygen and water. We are very popular metals, and everyone should know about us! So I am here to talk about our small Alkali family, what we look and what we do! I guess, let's get started!

Layla Lithium. She is the strongest out of all of us, tough, shiny, and incredibly light. She is used for many things, like heat resistant ceramics, cell phone batteries, mood stabilizing drugs, and much more! She is used mainly in psychiatric medications. She is a big help when it comes to major depressive disorder, and helps lowers the risk of you commiting suicide. She is very helpful to your health, so next time you take pills containing her, you should thank her. She is like the mother of our small Alkali family.

Next is Peter Potassium, Peter Potassium is important to your survival. He needs to be maintained for the survival of organisms, like you, animals, even fish and other sea life! He is also used for the growth of plants, used as a fertilizer, water retention, and is a crop maintainer. He helps your muscles move, including the ones that help you breathe and control your heartbeat. He also comes with the food you eat. You need him to survive. Peter potassium is very shiny when solid, and very tough. 

Rupert rubidium is not one to mess with. He is radioactive, and is worth more than gold! His name comes from the latin word rubius, which means ‘deepest red’. He is used in thermoelectric generators, fluid in vapor turbines, the manufacture of atomic clocks, photocells, and much much more! He was named after the two red lines of his spectrum. He is very soft, with a silvery-white colour. He has the periodic table symbol ‘Rb’, and has an atomic number of 37.

Caesar cesium (or Caesium) is one of the 5 elemental metals that are liquid at or near room temperature. He is a silvery gold colour and was a melting point of 28.5 degrees celsius (83.3 fahrenheit). He is used for atomic clocks, photoelectric cells, and as a catalyst in the hydrogenation of certain organic compounds. He was an atomic number of 55. Radioactive Cesium can be fatal if a person is exposed to large amounts of him, though being exposed to him for a small period of time may cause vomiting, bleeding, coma, nausea, diarrhea, and death of course. Cesium in tiny amounts is not fatal, even to children. Cesium hydroxide, created by reacting Cesium with oxygen) is a very strong base, and is corrosive enough to corrode glass very quickly! 

Francis Francium is the heaviest of the alkali family. She is a tough, reddish-brown metal and was the periodic table symbol ‘Fr’. She is extremely radioactive. Francium-223 was a half-life of only 22 minutes! That's not long! There is currently no uses for her except for basic scientific research, due to her short half-life and small amounts produced. Not a lot is known about her for these same reasons. Her atomic weight is 223, and was a 27 degree melting temperature. She is quite the strange, unusual member of the alkali family, but she is interesting to learn about nonetheless! She has once known as eka-caesium. 

Then we come to me! Sally sodium! I am an alkali metal that helps with your survival! I am one of your body's electrolytes, and commonly known as salt. I am a soft, silvery-white, very reactive metal. Though salt consists mainly of sodium chloride, if I am taken in high amounts I can cause heart cancer. I am essential to human health, but too much of me is poisonous. Poisoning because of me can cause seizures, coma, and even death. I have an atomic number of 11, and am used for a heat exchanger in nuclear reactors, and as a reagent (A substance used for chemical testing) in the chemistry industry. I was discovered in 1807 by Humphry Davy. My name was taken from the word ‘soda’.

And that is our small Alkali family! There's much more about us to be discovered, in due time. Be sure to find us around your home, or lying in the street, or even in your body! For now my time has come to a close, but i've had fun talking to you all!-Sally Sodium