Where else can you find hydrogen?

		The Sun Hydrogen is very easy to burn. As you know, the Sun is one big ball of fire. One of the elements that makes the sun burn so brightly is hydrogen.
	Welding and Blowtorches Sometimes you see someone working with a blowtorch, or welding something together. They use gases that can burn very hot and make a bright flame. One of those gases is hydrogen.
		Plants and Sugars Hydrogen is in all plants. There are sugars all throughout plants and there is hydrogen in sugar. That's why animals eat plants... For the sugar and the energy.
	Cryogenics Hydrogen is used in something called cryogenics. Cryogenics is a process when scientists freeze things. When hydrogen is in a liquid form it is very, very cold. Scientists use this cold hydrogen to freeze things very quickly.

HE-LI-UM

Let's finish off the top row of the periodic table with a short look at helium (He). You'll find it on the upper right of the table as element number two. It is the first in the family of noble gases. Helium is the other very simple element that you will find with one atomic orbital. The chemists Lockyear and Frankland named the element. They named it after the Sun and the Latin word "helios". Even when first discovered and identified, scientists knew there were large amounts of helium in the Sun.  Similar to hydrogen (H), helium is usually found as a gas and has no color or smell. Helium is found everywhere in the Universe and is the second most common element, just behind hydrogen. As far as we're concerned, helium is a "happy" element. It is inert, because its outermost electron orbital is full with two electrons. You can also find helium in compressed air tanks, lasers, and as coolants in nuclear reactors. 

Fluor-ine

Fluorine (F) is the ninth element of the periodic table and was first isolated and identified in 1886 by a scientist named Moisson. Scientists knew about fluorine for hundreds of years, but it wasn't isolated until the late 1800s. Now we use fluorine in refrigerators, toothpaste, and rocket fuels.  Located in the second period of the table (row 2), fluorine is the first element in the family of halogen gases. Fluorine is a yellowish gas at room temperature and is very dangerous. Be careful if you are working in a chemistry lab with fluorine gas. Even though the names rhyme, don't get fluorine mixed up with chlorine (Cl) in your homework. They are very different elements, and fluorine is both poisonous and very reactive with other elements. It can combine with nearly any element on Earth

CAL-CI-UM

You must have heard of calcium before. Calcium (Ca) is an important element that helps your bones stay strong and able to support your weight. Your nervous system also uses calcium to help transmit impulses through your body.  Humans have known about calcium and calcium containing compounds since before the Greeks and Romans. Romans used lime in their concrete and gave it the name "Calx." That name was used when Davy was the first chemist to isolate pure calcium in 1808. When you think of calcium, you might think of a white powder, but when purified, calcium is a hard silver-colored metal.  You will find calcium in the second column of the period table with other elements including beryllium and magnesium. The elements in that column make up the alkali earth metal family. 

SO-DI-UM

As we begin our exploration of the third period (row) of theperiodic table, we find the element sodium (Na). Being in the first column, sodium is a member of the alkali metal family with potassium (K) and lithium (Li). Sodium's big claim to fame is that it's one of two elements in your table salt. When bonded to chlorine (Cl), the two elements make sodium chloride (NaCl). Sodium is also used as a salt in many fertilizers.  Even though humans have been using sodium for thousands of years, it was not isolated until 1807 by a chemist named Davy. When you purify sodium, you actually wind up with a silvery bright metal that is quite soft and malleable. Sodium is one of the few metals that will float when it is placed in water (H₂O). Sodium's atomic mass is less that water's atomic mass of 18 amu. 

A-LU-MI-NUM

You are probably very familiar with the metal aluminum (Al). Many of you wrap your sandwiches with aluminum foil. On the other hand, many of your families also cook with the foil. Being such an expert with aluminum, you already know that the metal is a silvery white color and very reflective. Another great trait of aluminum is that it is not toxic. So cook and eat away - the aluminum foil will not get you sick.  The thirteenth element in the periodic table has many other uses. When aluminum is combined with other metals, it becomes very strong. It is so strong that engineers use it to build planes and ships. Did you know that there is even a type of plastic that has aluminum inside? Even though humans have been using the metal for thousands of years, it was not until 1807 that Davy named the metal. It took another twenty years before it was purified and isolated by a chemist named Wohler. Aluminum is located in the same column of the periodic table with periodic table (B).