Element: Gold

By: Simarjot Randhawa, Jay Sekhon, & Faiza Ahmed

General Facts Uses: gold is the most useful metal in jewelry. Rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces are used from gold. Gold masks and ornaments were used by many ancient civilizations.

About gold: gold is the most malleable and ductile metal, which makes it easy to work with. It never tarnishes or affected by most chemicals but may lose color by exposure to chlorine, bleach, and certain detergents.

Sources: South africa and China have been the largest producers of gold.

Varieties: Blue gold: gold with slight blue tone, caused by alloying the gold with iron. Green gold: slight green tone, caused by alloying the gold with copper, and silver.White gold: pale, almost silver colored gold, color caused by alloying the gold with zinc, nickel and sometimes palladium.

History

How was gold found? The metal began being used as a type of money for international trade in 1500 BC, and by 1200 BC, Egyptians figured out how to mix gold with other metals to make other elements. The Romans and Greeks also used gold, for it’s value.

What is gold?A yellow precious metal, it is valued especially for use in jewelry and decoration. It also has the chemical element of atomic number 79.

Where is gold found?Gold can be found on nearly every continent of the earth. It also exists in trace amounts in seawater and in the human body

History continued..

How is gold found?Mining is way to find gold when its underground, miners blast into rocks and look for gold seams, the gold is then dug out. Another way is to pan for it in a river, where you have to collect the gold flakes in the sand and rocks.

When was gold found?Gold has been around for a long time, but locally the Fraser Canyon gold rush started in 1855.

Interesting facts

1. Gold is the only metal that is yellow or “golden” 2. Gold is heavy, dense metal. Generally considered non-toxic.

Gold metal flakes may be be eaten in foods or drinks. 3. The world’s largest source of gold is located in the Witwatersrand

basin. This area in South Africa has provided a large amount of the world’s gold. Rumors state that there is still about 40% of the basin that has yet to be mined and still holds much more gold.

Where can you find it?

Two kinds of gold found in nature are called primary and secondary. Primary is usually found in rock formations. It is most likely for primary gold to be found near valuable minerals such as silver or quartz. Secondary gold is found in streams or rivers. The water carries pieces of gold until it eventually gets covered in dirt and sand.

Cool Experiment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g_ml8tAnWE

In this experiment, it basically shows that once a bronze penny touches zinc, in water and chemicals, it turns silver. Once you place the silver penny on a hot surface, it turns gold. It’s actually pretty cool once you’ve seen the video.

CitationsPictures: http://www.goldmadesimple.com/images/uploaded/Image/Gold%20-%20Jewellery(1).jpghttp://channel.nationalgeographic.com/exposure/content/photo/photo/868_history-of-gold-4_mfldmaxdfd6s5e7azqbncnhx23ncurxrbvj6lwuht2ya6mzmafma_400x225.jpg http://www.goldnuggetsales.com/images/C716A.jpg http://www.midasletter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/gold_bars.jpg http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/periodic-table-gold.gif http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/dept/coins/exhibitions/CoinOfTheMoment/HenryIIIgold/images/small/goldpenny.jpg

Websites: http://www.minerals.net/gemstone/gold_gemstone.aspx http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/03/09_gold.html

http://discovery.yukozimo.com/who-discovered-gold/