Download Sodium is an abundant metallic element with atomic number as 11

Sodium is an abundant metallic element with atomic number as 11 and atomic weight
22, 9898. It has a symbol Na. This is a reference to a Latin word natrium, used to
refer to a specific type of salt. It is a soft metal, reactive and with a low melting
point. Sodium is the most important of all the alkaline
metals.
Physical Properties:
Melting point: 97.5°C
Boiling point: 88.3°C
Density: 0.97 g.cm -3 at 20 °C
Atomic mass: 22.98977 g.mol -1
Isotopes: 3
Chemical properties:
-Sodium reacts quickly with water, and also with snow and
ice, to produce sodium hydroxide and hydrogen. When it’s
exposed to air, metallic sodium recently cut looses its silvery
appearance and acquires an opaque grey colour due to the
formation of a sodium oxide coating.
-Sodium doesn’t react with nitrogen, not even at very high
temperatures, but it can react with ammonia to form sodium
amide.
-Sodium and hydrogen react above 200ºC (390ºF) to form
sodium hydride.
-Sodium hardly reacts with carbon, but it does react with
halogens. It also reacts with various metallic halides to form
the metal and sodium chloride.
-Sodium doesn’t react with paraffinic hydrocarbons, but it
forms addition compounds with naphthalene and other
aromatic polycyclic compounds and with aryl alkenes.
-The reaction of sodium with alcohols is similar to the
reaction of sodium with water, but slower. There are two
general reactions with organic halides. One of them requires
the condensation of two organic compounds, which form
halogens when those are eliminated. The second type of
reaction includes the replacement of halogen by sodium, to
obtain a sodium organic compound.
Use of Sodium: -Sodium is widely used in order to refine reactive metal. For instance
when sodium is in metallic form, it can be used separate potassium
from its compound. Being a member of alkaline family, it is also
used due to change the structure of some other alkalimetals. Another
Interesting usage of Sodium is in Soaps where combined with fatty
acids, it can
become
harder
making it a
preferable
choice over
the
potassium
ones which
are
less
hard.
-Sodium is in Street lights. The
orange-yellowish lights which can be seen
on most highways are made of twin
sodium D lines. An advantage of sodium
lights over the fluorescent one is the fact
that the high pressure sodium increases the
spectrum of wavelength, therefore making
it suitable in situations of Haziness and
fog. A lot more scientific uses of sodium
are present and scientist often use over
potassium for drying solvents.