89
Ac
227
Actinium
Actinide
Group 3
Period 7
Block d
Actinium is a chemical element of the periodic table with chemical symbol Ac and atomic number 89 with an atomic weight of 227 u and is classed as actinide and is part of group 3 (scandium group). Actinium is solid at room temperature.
Actinium in the periodic table
| Symbol | Ac |
| Atomic number | 89 |
| Group | 3 (Scandium group) |
| Period | 7 |
| Block | d |
| Classification | Actinide |
| Appearance | - |
| Color | Silver |
| Number of protons | 89 p+ |
| Number of neutrons | 138 n0 |
| Number of electrons | 89 e- |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaActinium is a radioactive chemical element with symbol Ac (not to be confused with the abbreviation for an acetyl group) and atomic number 89, which was discovered in 1899. It was the first non-primordial radioactive element to be isolated. Polonium, radium and radon were observed before actinium, but they were not isolated until 1902.
Physical properties
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Density | 10 g/cm3 |
| Atomic weight | 227 u |
Thermal properties
| Melting point | 1500 K 1226.85 °C 2240.33 °F |
| Boiling point | 3500 K 3226.85 °C 5840.33 °F |
| Heat of vaporization | 400 kJ/mol |
Atomic properties
| Electronegativity (Pauling Scale) | 1.1 |
| Electron affinity | 33.77 kJ/mol |
| Oxidation states | +3 (a strongly basic oxide) |
| Ionization energies |
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Electron configuration for actinium
Electron configuration Shorthand configuration | [Rn] 6d1 7s2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full configuration | 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 5s2 5p6 5d10 6s2 6p6 6d1 7s2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electron configuration chart |
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| Electrons per shell | 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 9, 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Outer shell electrons | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Valency electrons | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bohr model | Figure: Shell diagram of Actinium (Ac) atom. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Orbital Diagram
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The history of Actinium
| Discovery | Friedrich Oskar Giesel (1902) |
| First isolation | Friedrich Oskar Giesel (1903) |
| Named by | André-Louis Debierne (1899) |
Discovery of actinium André-Louis Debierne, a French chemist, announced the discovery of a new element in 1899. He separated it from pitchblende residues left by Marie and Pierre Curie after they had extracted radium. In 1899, Debierne described the substance as similar to titanium and (in 1900) as similar to thorium. Friedrich Oskar Giesel found in 1902 a substance similar to lanthanum and called it "emanium" in 1904. After a comparison of the substances' half-lives determined by Debierne, Harriet Brooks in 1904, and Otto Hahn and Otto Sackur in 1905, Debierne's chosen name for the new element was retained because it had seniority, despite the contradicting chemical properties he claimed for the element at different times. Together with polonium, radium, and radon, actinium was one of the first non-primordial radioactive elements to be isolated. The name actinium originates from the Ancient Greek aktis, aktinos (ακτίς, ακτίνος), meaning beam or ray. Its symbol Ac is also used in abbreviations of other compounds that have nothing to do with actinium, such as acetyl, acetate and sometimes acetaldehyde. | |
| Original word | aktinos |
| Language of origin | Greek |
| Name source | Properties |
| Meaning | “Ray” |
Naming The name is derived from the Greek 'aktinos', meaning beam or ray, mirroring radium and reflecting the element's strong radioactivity. | |
