A Visual Encyclopedia of the Periodic Table

96

Transtion Metals

These flakes of

pure gold are locked

into quartz crystals.

Pure gold has

a dark yellow

colour unlike any

other metal.

Gold

Au

79

People were making gold ornaments more

than 6,000 years ago. This was many centuries

before they learned how to purify copper, iron,

and other metals. Gold is believed by many to

be the first metal element to be identified. It is a

dense, unreactive metal with a distinctive deep

yellow colour. Gold is naturally pure and seldom

makes compounds in nature; the compound in the

mineral ore calaverite is an exception. Pure gold

found in nature may form nuggets but mostly is

found as tiny specks embedded in rocks. Gold

miners crush up these rocks and wash out the

Gold’s

chemical symbol

Au, comes

from its latin

name, aurum.

This mineral

ore contains gold

and tellurium.

79 79 118

State: Solid

Discovery: c. 3000 bce

Cala

ver

ite

Forms

These cr ystals

may be elongated,

rectangular, or cubic.

Natural g

old

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