Chromium | Chemistry

Crescent School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Chromium, 24, Cresent School, Toronto ON

Chromium: If you’ve seen the shiny bumpers on a ’57 Chevy, you’ve seen chromium’s flashiest application. But chromium’s no one-trick pony. It is used in a number of paint pigments, the most notable of which are the oxides of chromium VI. Crocoite, PbCrO₄, is the primary pigment in both chrome red and yellow paints. The most identifiable application of these paints: the yellow school bus. This is why I painted a school bus: to dig up memories, to stir our emotions.

Artwork by Andrew Chung. Teacher: Michael Jansen, Crescent School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Atomic properties*

Name:

Chromium

Symbol:

Cr

Atomic number:

24

Atomic mass:

51.9961 amu

Melting point:

1907°C

Boiling point:

2671°C

Density:

7.15 g/cm³

Electronegativity:

1.66

# of Isotopes:

5

State:

Solid

Colour:

Silvery-metallic±

Classification:

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/