Cerium | Chemistry

Tadeusz Reytan Secondary School, Warsaw, Poland

Cerium: Our drawing shows planetoid Ceres, whose name comes from the name of goddess Ceres. Ceres was the Roman goddess of vegetation and harvest. The element was named "cerium", because it was discovered immediately after the discovery of planetoid Ceres. This funny red dinosaur is a ceratosaurus. We have had such associations because in Polish we call the element "cer", not "cerium". It is red because cerium sulphide is used in red non-toxic pigments. The ceratosaurus is holding a lighter — cerium is also used in lighters. On our planetoid there is also a low-energy light bulb because cerium is used to make filaments. Cerium oxide is also used in self-cleaning ovens and flat-screen TVs.

Artwork by K. Dąbrowska, K. Derlatka, U. Gołyska, G. Jaroszewska, M. Jarzynka, T. Łempicki, S. Łopaciuk, A. Rutkowska and L. Bendyk, Tadeusz Reytan Secondary School, Warsaw, Poland

Atomic properties*

Name:

Cerium

Symbol:

Ce

Atomic number:

58

Atomic mass:

140.12 amu

Melting point:

799°C

Boiling point:

3443°C

Density:

6.77 g/cm³

Electronegativity:

1.12

# of Isotopes:

6

State:

Solid

Colour:

Iron-grey lustrous-metal

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/