Download Uses for Elements in the Carbon Family

Uses for Elements in the Carbon
Family
Some Interesting Facts
Members of the Carbon Family
•
•
•
•
•
Carbon
Silicon
Germanium
Tin
Lead
What do they have in common?
SOME FAMILY…
• Some are metals, some
are nonmetals, and
some are metalloids
• Lead is poisonous, but
carbon is essential to
life
• The all look really
different
BUT…
• They all have 4
valence electrons.
• They react in similar
ratios with oxygen and
other elements.
• They can form up to 4
bonds – more than any
other family!!
Carbon
• Carbon is found in
every living creature.
• Elemental carbon can
be black (graphite), or
hard and beautiful
(diamonds).
• Building block of
fossil fuels (gasoline
and oil)
• Basis of organic
chemistry
Silicon
• Important semiconductor used in
computer chips, solar
cells, and transistors.
• Second most plentiful
element in the earth’s
crust.
• SiO2 is the main
ingredient in glass.
Germanium
• Important for its
semiconductor
properties.
• One of few substances
that expand when
frozen.
• Can be recovered from
refining zinc ores or
from the gases of coal
combustion.
Lead
• Extensively used in
plumbing.
• Used to be added to
gasoline to prevent
engine knocking.
• Used to block
radiation – very dense
metal
• Neurotoxin – may have
contributed to fall of the Roman
empire.
Tin
• Once used to make
disposable cans, now
cheaper aluminum
cans are coated inside
with tin.
• Has been known for
centuries and used for
it’s relative nonreactivity.