Why is this element important in everyday life?The element Xenon is used in making electron tubes, stroboscopic lamps, bacterial lamps and lamps used to excite ruby lasers for generating coherent light. It also is used in the atomic energy field in bubble chambers, probes and other places where its high molecular weight is of value Xenon is also potentially useful for ion engines. Xenon is a noble gas and they are used instead of air in containers with materials that would react with oxygen or moisture in the air.
Where is this element found in nature? Xenon is found in our atmosphere. It is part of the Argon family and occupies about 1% of the atmosphere.
What are the properties of the element?
General Characteristics =
Xenon is a very heavy and extremely rare gas. Xenon is the rarest of the Argon group. Xenon is inert, meaning that it does not react with other elements, and it has an ocelot atomic structure. Xenon is a metalloid. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It is in-group 18. This is the group of Noble Gases. Xenon has a completely filled orbital, and is only reactive under extreme conditions. Xenon's low radioactivity sets it away from other families and groups. Fluorides and Oxides can mix with Xenon to form compounds, but Hydrides, Hydrides, Iodides, and Chlorides can not.
Atomic Symbol = Xe
Period Number = 5
Group Number and Family Name =18/ Noble Gas
Atomic Number = 54
Atomic Mass =131.29
Density =5.85 g/ cm3
(solid);
=3.52 g/L (liquid)
Melting Point = 112 degrees
Celsius
Boiling Point =107.1 degree
Celsius
Electron Configuration =1s22s22p63s23p64s23d<
sup>10
Shorthand Notation =[Kr]5s24d105p6
Common Reactions = NA
Interesting Information = Xenon was discovered in England by Sir William Ramsey in 1898. This element receives its name from the Greek word "xenos" meaning "stranger."
Who is ?
(This section is in the form of an interview. It will start in the middle so that the hostess and the guests have been formally introduced. A questionnaire will be demonstrated between Barbara Walters, Sir William Ramsey, and Xenon.) Barbara: "So tell me Sir Ramsey, How did you discover Ms. Xenon?" Ramsey: "Barbara, you might call this a miracle, but one week after Ms. Krypton and Mr. Neon were discovered, we were working in our lab, and we noticed her in the residue left after evaporating liquid air components. This was the same method used to find Kr and Ne." Barbara: "Thank you, Mr. Ramsey. Now to the star of the show. Xenon, tell me, do you like being in period 5, group 18? How do you feel around the other elements? Do you get along?" Xenon: "I certainly do like being where I am because of several reasons. We have many similarities. We all lack chemical reactivity and we have completely filled orbitals. So yes, I do think that I am perfect where I am." Barbara: "That is very interesting. But despite your popularity now, do you feel at all left out from your past with Dmitri Mendeleev? What I mean is that he could have made you famous, you could have been one of the first elements found. But he only looked at atomic mass numbers. What are your views?" Xenon: "Well, I feel that I wasn't the only element not found at Mendeleev's time. Actually, he didn't find any of us "Noble Gases," so I really don't look at this as a problem. But if Well wouldn't have come along, I don't know where I'd be. By the way, thanks Will." Ramsey: "No Problem." Barbara: "Well it looks like our time is out. I hope everyone has enjoyed our show, and they have enjoyed themselves. Join us tomorrow with a guest that claims that he could be the next Noble Gas. Until Tomorrow, Bye-Bye."
