Periodic table Transition metals definition chemistry

Slag: A by-product of the reactions by which iron is produced, consisting primarily of calcium silicate. Pig iron: A form of iron consisting of approximately 90 percent pure iron and the remaining 10 percent of various impurities. Patina: A corrosion-resistant film that often develops on copper surfaces. Open hearth process: A method for making steel in which a blast of hot air or oxygen is blown across the surface of a molten mixture of pig iron, hematite, scrap iron, and limestone in a large brick container. Malleable: Capable of being rolled or hammered into thin sheets. Words to Knowīasic oxygen process (BOP): A method for making steel in which a mixture of pig iron, scrap iron, and scrap steel is melted in a large steel container and a blast of pure oxygen is blown through the container.īessemer convertor: A device for converting pig iron to steel in which a blast of hot air is blown through molten pig iron.īlast furnace: A structure in which a metallic ore (often, iron ore) is reduced to the elemental state.Ĭast iron: A term used to describe various forms of iron that also contain anywhere from 0.5 to 4.2 percent carbon and 0.2 to 3.5 percent silicon.Ĭomplex: A chemical compound in which a single metal atom is surrounded by two or more groups of atoms.ĭuctile: Capable of being drawn or stretched into a thin wire.Įlectrolytic cell: A system in which electrical energy is used to bring about chemical changes.Įlectrolytic copper: A very pure form of copper. Copper compounds tend to be blue or green chromium compounds are yellow, orange, or green nickel compounds are blue, green, or yellow and manganese compounds are purple, black, or green. Some of the most striking and beautiful chemical compounds known are those that include transition metals. Transition element complexes have many medical and industrial applications.Īnother common property of the transition elements is their tendency to form colored compounds. Ordinary copper sulfate, for example, normally occurs in a configuration that includes four water molecules surrounding a single copper ion. For example, they tend to form complexes, compounds in which a group of atoms cluster around a single metal atom. In addition, the transition metals share some chemical properties. They also have a shiny, lustrous, metallic appearance that may range from silver to gold to white to gray. With the notable exception of mercury, the only liquid metal, they all have relatively high melting and boiling points. The transition elements share many physical properties in common. The discoverers of technetium were Italian physicists Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segr é (1905 –1989). It was originally produced synthetically in 1937 among the products of a cyclotron reaction. Technetium (element #43) is one of only two 'light' elements that does not occur in nature. One member of the transition family deserves special mention.

These elements include titanium, vanadium, manganese, zirconium, molybdenum, palladium, and tungsten. A number of other transition elements are probably somewhat less familiar, although they have vital industrial applications. These elements, all of which are metals, include some of the best-known names on the periodic table -iron, gold, silver, copper, mercury, zinc, nickel, chromium, and platinum among them. The transition elements are the elements that make up Groups 3 through 12 of the periodic table.

Periodic table Transition metals definition chemistry