Why is this element important in everyday life?
Plutonium is used in such fun loving items as nuclear bombs such as the one dropped on Nagasaki. Plutonium is also used in nuclear reactors and can be used to synthesize other elements.
Where is this element found in nature?
This element is not found in nature but is man made by bombarding Uranium 238 with neutrons.
What are the properties of the element?
General Characteristics =
Plutonoium is a shiny silvery radioactive metal at room temperature. It is generally non-reactive, unless under extreme conditions, so compounds aren't formed.
Atomic Symbol = Pu
Period Number = 7
Group Number and Family Name =8…. Actinides
Atomic Number = 94
Atomic Mass = 224 u
Density = 19.8 g/cm cubed
Melting Point = 641 degrees Celsius
Boiling Point = 3232 degrees Celsius
Electron Configuration = Pu-1s22s22p64s23d104p65s24d105p66s24f145d106p67s25f5
Shorthand Notation = {Rn}7s25f5
Common Reactions = None
Interesting Information = Plutonium is warm to the touch because it is constantly radiating energy. It is radioactive and causes cancer, but a simple protective glove can protect against this threat. Plutonium was used to power the Voyager Space Craft and it was the first Transuranium Element.
Who is ?
Hey! What are you looking at! I am Pete Plutonium. I'm the bully around this part of the periodic table. I do what I want, like set off thermo-nuclear-devices and give people cancer using my radiation. I am mean because people always made fun of me for being "fat." Although I am not proud of it, I used to do GOOD things like power the Voyager Space Craft, synthesize other elements, and power reactors, but that was the "Goody Goody Pete Plutonium."
My mom, Uranium 238, made me go to a shrink! He said that I "didn't react well with other elements" and that I am "unstable." He said I am never happy because I am always decomposing and I have no compounds to keep me company. They put me in a home, behind lead walls! They say I can't hurt anyone in here. I'll get out one day! You'll see!
