11

Na

Sodium
22.98976928 (2)
 Historical Information

Until the 18th century no distinction was made between potassium and sodium. This was because early chemists did not recognise that "vegetable alkali" and "mineral alkali" are distinct from each other. Eventually a distinction was made.

Basic Information Shells
  • Name:Sodium
  • Symbol: Na
  • Atomic number: 11
  • Atomic weight:22.98976928 (2)
  • Standard state: solid at 298 K
  • Group in periodic table: 1
  • Group name: Alkali metal
  • Period in periodic table: 3
  • Block in periodic table: s-block
  • Classification: Metallic
 sodium
Uses Trivia
  • sodium metal is used in the preparation of tetraethyl lead, PbEt4, an important anti-knock reagent in leaded petrol (gasoline) - fortunately being phased out in many countries because of lead pollution problems

Soap is generally a sodium salt of fatty acids. The importance of common salt to animal nutrition has been recognized since prehistoric times. The most common compound is sodium chloride, (table salt).