Introduction

In these past few

weeks, I have been
studying the element
calcium for this project. I
viewed numerous websites
and watched videos all
about calcium to
understand the element in
a scientific way. One night,
after all this studying, I fell
asleep while working and
dreamt that I met Sir
Humphrey Davy, the
scientist who isolated
calcium in 1808. In this
dream, I interviewed him,
asking questions about
calcium, and this was the
result.

Yes, thats correct.

Are you aware that the
atomic number is 20? Along
with the fact that the
atomic mass is 40.078amu
and that calcium contains
20 protons, 20 neutrons,
and 20 electrons?
Yes I am aware, but
what does that mean?
Well, since there are
20 protons, 20 neutrons,
and 20 electrons, the
charges cancel each other
out, therefore, calcium has
a neutral charge and is a
neutral element.

The Basics of
Calcium
So when I arrived in
his laboratory in my dream,
I noticed Sir Humphrey
Davy in the corner of the
lab. I approached him and
asked, Where did you get
the name of calcium?
He replied, I named
the element calcium based
of the Latin word, Calx
which means lime.
My research tells me
that the symbol for calcium
is Ca.

What calcium looks like as a

solid

The Hot Topics of

Calcium
I noticed that Sir
Davey had some calcium in
test tubes and was in the
process of conducting some
experiments. I decided to
take the opportunity to
further my knowledge on
calcium.

So what do you have

in your test tubes in here?
Im conducting some
experiments to determine
the density, boiling point,
melting point, and specific
heat for calcium, in Celsius,
of course.
Can you please share
your results?
Well its the lightest
of the Alkaline Earth Metals
at only 1.55g/cm3. Calcium
has a boiling point of
1484C and a melting point
of 839C. The specific heat
is 0.00306 J/gC.
Thank you Sir
Humphrey Davy for this
information, but I would like
to know more about how
this all relates to present
day.

Calcium burns a brick red

flame

The Relationships of
Calcium
So help me to better
understand how calcium
relates to other elements

and how it relates to other

elements, can you tell me
its electron configuration?
The electron
configuration for calcium is
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2. He
replies as if I should have
known this.
I carried on the
conversation by asking
what calcium is used for in
everyday life.
He says with a smug
look on his face they use
calcium in everything from
vitamins to building
supplies because it helps to
make things stronger when
combined with other
chemicals.
So I see that calcium
is used in _ products, but
does calcium react with
oxygen or water?
Yes, calcium does
react with oxygen to form
calcium oxide and when
calcium and water are
combined, it produces
calcium hydroxide and
hydrogen. It also reacts
with other elements such
as nitrogen, halogens
(chlorine, bromine, and
iodine), and hydrochloric
acid.
Since calcium reacts
with other elements, can it

be toxic when combined or

by itself?
Yes, calcium alone
and when combined with
other elements can be
toxic. For example, if a
person has too much
calcium in his or her body,
they can experience
constipation, stomach
discomfort, or kidney
stones. Calcium phosphide
can be toxic to aquatic
organisms, and calcium
oxide, when inhaled can
cause abdominal pain,
nausea, and vomiting.
Well it certainly
sounds like people should
be careful when concerning
calcium.
Certainly they should
be careful when associated
with calcium as with all
other elements.
Thank you for all your
knowledge about calcium. I
now understand its
properties and purposes,
and Im sure my classmates
will appreciate this
information as well.
Just as I was about to
shake Sir Humphrey Davys
hand, my brother yelling at
the Xbox rudely awakened
me.

The element configuration of

Calcium

Sources Used

www.chemicalelement
s.com
www.webelements.co
m
www.lenntech.com/per
iodic/periodicchart.htm
www.chemtopics.com/
elements.htm
www.wikapedia.com
(Pictures only)