Phosphorus | Chemistry

Preston High School, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Phosphorus, 15, Preston High School, Cambridge ON

Phosphorus: I chose to represent phosphorus as a firework rocket because phosphorus is used to make fireworks. I put a red stripe on the firework to represent one of the two main types of phosphorus; red or white phosphorus. The planet in the top right corner is Venus. This planet is included because phosphorus means "light-bearer" referring to Venus because white phosphorus glows when exposed to oxygen hence the name "light bearer".

Olivia Stocks; Teacher- Jill M. Nicholls, Preston High School, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Atomic properties*

Name:

Phosphorus

Symbol:

P

Atomic number:

15

Atomic mass:

30.9738 amu

Melting point:

44.15°C (white)

Boiling point:

280.5°C (white)

Density:

1.82 g/cm³ (white)

Electronegativity:

2.19

# of Isotopes:

1

State:

Solid

Colour:

Red/silvery white±

Classification:

Non-metallic±

* Haynes, W. M. (2011). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 91st edition: http://www.hbcponline.com/ Retrieved April 7, 2011

± Winter, M. (2010). Home of the Periodic Table. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Web Elements: http://www.webelements.com/