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hassium

Primary Information
Secondary Information

Definition

Hassium is a chemical element with the symbol Hs and atomic number 108. It is a synthetic element, meaning it was created in a laboratory and does not occur naturally. Hassium is a member of the transactinide series, which are elements with atomic numbers greater than 100. Hassium is a heavy metal that is silvery-white in colour. It is the heaviest element that has been synthesized in a laboratory, and it is the second-heaviest element that has been confirmed to exist.

How can the word be used?

The scientists created a hassium compound in the lab.

hassium

Different forms of the word

Noun: hassium.

Adjective: hassiate.

Adverb: hassically.

Verb: hassiumize.

Etymology

The element hassium (Hs) is named after the German state of Hesse, where it was first synthesized in 1984. The name is a combination of the Latin word "Hassia", which was the ancient name for Hesse, and the suffix "-ium", which is commonly used to name elements.

Question

What is hassium?

AQA Science Exam Question and Answer

Question:

Describe the discovery of the element hassium and its significance in the periodic table.

Answer:

Hassium, element 108, was first synthesised by an international team of scientists at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1984. It was created by bombarding lead-208 nuclei with accelerated nuclei of iron-58. The resulting reaction produced a few atoms of hassium-265.

Hassium's significance lies in its placement in the periodic table. As a transactinide element, hassium is part of the seventh period, in the d-block of the periodic table. Its properties and behaviours are largely theoretical due to its short half-life, making it challenging to study directly. However, its existence contributes to our understanding of the behaviour of heavy elements and the filling of electron shells.

Hassium's discovery and placement in the periodic table provide insight into the arrangement and properties of elements, furthering our knowledge of the atomic structure and the relationships between elements.