Sodium is perhaps the most characteristic alkali metal, reacting violently with water and rapidly with the oxygen in air.

Most People have never seen sodium metal, but it is It is the sixth most abundant element in the earth's crust.  Sodium combines with other elements to form compounds used in everyday life

  • Table Salt (NaCl)

  • Baking Soda

  • Baking powder

  • Soaps and Detergents

  • Aspirin

 

 

BASIC FACTS

Date of discovery: 1807

Discoverer: Sir Humphry Davy- an English Chemist who found a way to extract sodium from its compounds.

Name origin: Soda (Na2CO3)

Symbol origin: From the Latin word Natrium

Uses: medicine, agriculture

Obtained From: table salts and other foods

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Sodium in a silvery white metal with a waxy appearance that is so soft it can easily be cut with a knife. 

Melting point: 97.82˚C

Boiling point: 881.4˚C

The Electron Configuration for sodium is

1s2 2s2p6 3s1

 
There is only one valence electron in the last energy level.  This valence electron is easily given up to obtain a more stable existence.
 
The Electron dot diagram for Sodium is

Atomic Structure

Go to Potassium

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