Sulfur | Chemistry

Port Moody Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Sulfur, 16, Port Moody Secondary School, Port Moody B.C.

Sulfur: The city in the background, Vancouver, is represented by the Cloud 9 Revolving Restaurant and Canada Place. The triangular, yellow piles are the sulfur piles of the Pacific Coast Terminals (PCT) in Port Moody, which is part of Greater Vancouver. As China is the largest PCT customer, the land in the foreground is Beijing, China, which is represented by the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven. The most popular use of the sulfur imported to China is for fertilizer, yet traditionally it has also been used for medicine. Also, sulfur is used by plants for growth, and as an ingredient for the production of proteins, enzymes, vitamins and chlorophyll. These uses were represented with an atractylode, a traditional Chinese herb. This herb is sometimes treated with sulfur during growth to preserve its quality.

Artwork by Yuliya Yaremenko. Teacher: Aliisa Sarte, Port Moody Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Atomic properties*

Name:

Sulfur

Symbol:

S

Atomic number:

16

Atomic mass:

32.065 amu

Melting point:

115.21°C

Boiling point:

444.61°C

Density:

2.07 g/cm³

Electronegativity:

2.58

# of Isotopes:

5

State:

Solid

Colour:

Lemon yellow±

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/