An Elemental Past

An Elemental Past By: Sara Khadel

Table of Contents ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………...Pg. 2 How Elements Form………………………………………………………………………………Pg. 3 Where Elements Form…………………………………………………………………………..Pg. 4 Chemical Reactions: Hydrogen…………………………………………………………….Pg. 7 The Sun and Nebulae: What they are made out of………………….Pg. 8 Conversion of Hydrogen and Helium and other elements………..Pg. 12 Conclusion to An Elemental Past……………………………………………………..Pg. 14 Glossary……………………………………………………………………………………………………..Pg. 15 Works cited………………………………………………………………………………………………Pg. 16 About the Author………………………………………………………………………………….Pg. 17 Back cover page……………………………………………………………………………………..Pg. 19

Introduction Have you ever wondered where the elements on the Periodic Table come from? Scientists have pondered this question for years, coming to a very reasonable and exciting conclusion. Most elements that aren’t man-made were made from burning stars up in space! Light elements and heavy elements are actually very different when it comes to their origins. It matters which group they are under on the Periodic Table. Many things around us (actually, everything!) are made from the 118 elements in the Periodic Table.

This is a picture of a color-coded Periodic Table with how each one was made.

How Elements Form The lightest elements were made during the Big Bang while heavier elements were made from supernovae and the nuclear fusion of stars.

Jagadheep D. Pandian says, “In a supernova explosion, neutron capture reactions take place (this is not fusion), leading to the formation of heavy elements.� This is heavy elements are made.

This is basically what happens during nuclear fusion: Small atom + small atom = large atom + energy = NUCLEAR FUSION!!

Where Elements Form Elements are divided into groups by how they were made and where.

Some elements come from two different things, like the element mercury (Hg) is made from either supernovae or large stars.

The carbon in your body is from the nuclear fusion that occurs in the middle/core of stars as was oxygen. You are made up of made up of elements that were made from stars that are now probably dead. Joi Matthew says, “You are the living remnants of massive, cataclysmic events….the walking, talking remains of the death of hypergiant stars.”

This is a supernova explosion.

Where Elements Form pt. 2 Almost all of the elements in the universe were made from exploding stars or supernovae. Helium and hydrogen were made in the Big Bang.

Other elements are not made up in space. Those are very rare chemical elements and we would have stopped finding elements after plutonium if scientists hadn’t mixed together with other chemicals together to find completely new elements.

This is a picture of our galaxy, The Milky Way.

Chemical Reactions: Hydrogen Sodium hydroxide and aluminum reaction release hydrogen gas. This chemical reaction is exothermic so it releases heat as the two chemicals react with each other. How it works is that when you pour water over solid sodium hydroxide and aluminum, the sodium hydroxide dissolves and reacts with the aluminum causing the element hydrogen to be released into the air.

Sodium Hydroxide!

The Sun and Nebulae The Sun is a very complex star; even more complex than we thought. Like all stars, it is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium. To be exact, 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, 1.5% carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and 0.5 all other elements up there in space. Scientists know that there is no way the Sun created the other elements by itself, due to its size, so they have come to a conclusion that the Sun formed in a region that more massive and violent stars once lived.

This is the Sun.

This is a nebula.

The Sun and Nebulae (Pt. 2) Most nebulae are made up of 90% hydrogen and 10% helium along with a 0.1% of other heavier elements such as carbon, nitrogen, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and iron. Nebulae are divided into five groups; emission nebulae, reflection nebulae, dark nebulae, planetary nebulae, and supernova remnants. Many nebulae are dozens or hundreds of light years across. Emission and reflection nebulae are usually spread out and don’t really make a specific shape or structure.

This is a nebula in sapce called the Cat’s Eye Nebula! See how the center looks like a eye if you look really closely?

Conversion of Elements Nuclear fusion in all stars converts hydrogen into helium. In stars bigger than the Sun, helium further converts into carbon and oxygen. Heavier elements cannot be formed from fusion due to the lack of enough energy needed to make all the necessary “ingredients� or chemical reactions required.

This shows how all the energy is going to the core, or middle, of the forming star and helps it stay up by mataining a nice, fast speed.

Conclusion There are a lot of elements out there and most of them have origins beyond this world. It is very interesting to see what things are made out of and where those things came from. It’s even more interesting to look at what a certain thing is made out of instead of what it looks like on the outside. Like the Sun, for example, or nebulae, the birthplace of stars. They are all really fascinating things to learn about the world and beyond. Life is really interesting when you look at things from far away and close up.

Glossary Chemical - a material that has been prepared, mostly affected by us humans.

Nebuale - a cloud of gas and dust in space. The birthplace of stars.

Conversion - the process of being changed into something else.

Cited - to quote as an example or proof that backs up your information.

Elements - the building blocks for all the rest of the matter in the world.

Pondered - to consider or think very hard and carefully.

Periodic Table - a system for organizing the chemical elements.

Scientists - a person who studies a field of science and does scientific work.

Origins - the rise or beginning

Works Cited “How to Make an Element.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/make-an-element/.

Knight, J.D. “Nebulae.” Constellation Canis Major - The Constellations on Sea and Sky , www.seasky.org/celestial-objects/nebulae.html.

Matthew, Joi. “Where Do All the Elements Come From?” Futurism, Futurism, 30 Jan. 2016, futurism.com/where-do-all-the-elements-come-from.

Pandian, Jagadheep D. “How Are Light and Heavy Elements Formed? (Advanced).” Home - Curious About

Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer, curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/84-the-universe/stars-and-star-clusters/nuclear-burning/402-how-are-li ght-and-heavy-elements-formed-advanced.

Random, The King of. “Our Hydrogen Experiment Escalated Quickly!” YouTube, YouTube, 25 Dec. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=79nDqxfMTvI.

Works Cited (continued) Spekkens, Kristine. “What Elements Make up the Sun? (Beginner).� Home - Curious About Astronomy? Ask an

Astronomer, curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/53-our-solar-system/the-sun/composition/202-what-elements-make-up-t he-sun-beginner.

About the Author Sara Khadel is a middle-schooler who is 11 years old and loves learning new things. She enjoys to read all kinds of genres. She mostly enjoys reading fantasy books because they take her into a new and wonderful world. Sara also loves to read realistic fiction and science fiction. She loves cats, cats, and all things cats! Sara is a creative girl who has a big future planned for herself. She currently lives in Durham, North Carolina.

I hope you enjoyed An Elemental Past!

With their impossible variety and different physical appearences, elements are all around us even if we don’t always notice it. But did you know that almost everything is made up of these small yet life-changing things? It’s true. The chair that you usually sit in is made up of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. There are other elements in them, too, but these are common in almost all chairs. Most things around you are made from the elements in the Periodic Table, a system for organizing these cool little things. So what are you waiting for? Learn more about these tiny-but-life-changing miracles.