(50)+SN+TIN

=Lolwarf 6/5/10 Paper a **bout my element.** = =TIN (SN)=

__The History of Tin:__
= = =Tin is one of the oldest metals known to man, as humans have been using it for thousands of years. (The earliest known time is 3,500 B.C, probably found in Africa or Asia.) Not only is it one of the most well-known elements, but one of the most useful. The symbol for tin on the periodic table is “Sn” which stands for Stannum, which is Tin’s Latin name. As it has been being used by humans for thousands of years, no scientist ever really “discovered” it, so it could be considered being found by early, early humans.= = =

__Uses of Tin__
=Tin is one of the most important metals known to man. It is commonly used to cover other metals such as steel and zinc to prevent corrosion. Today, tin is often used so that food does not spoil, and we use a very thin form of tin called tin-foil. Tin is also used to create bronze alloys. The ancient Romans actually used tin to make their weapons! Tin is a conductor, so that means that it is useful for electric rods. Tin is often traded commercially, and can be found in Malaysia, Indonesia, Bolivia and Thailand.=

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__Physical Traits__
=Not only is tin very useful, but it has some interesting physical characteristics. One important property is that tin is ductile, meaning that it can be bent, folded, or made thin easily. This property is useful when making things such as the previously mentioned tin-foil. Another interesting trait of tin is that below 55 degrees, it becomes a silver-gray powder. Its melting point is 232 degrees Celsius; its boiling point is 2602 degrees Celsius. Tins density is always 7.365 kilograms per cubic meters. in the periodic table of elements tin is a metal, and is the one of the heaviest. At times, tin is so different from other metals that it isn’t even considered one!=

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__Chemical Traits__
=Even though tin does not have as many chemical traits as its physical ones, these are just as important. Tin is not usually affected by water and oxygen at room temperature, but at higher temperatures, reacts with both the previously mentioned substances to create tin oxide. Tin is also very rarely affected by acid’s, and even then, it takes a while for them to to actually damage the tin. Tin does not rust, it cannot rust because it has a thin oxide layer. An oxide layer is a compound consisting of an atom of oxygen and one of another element. As I mentioned earlier, it is a conductor.=

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__Sub-Atomic Particles__
=On the periodic table, Tin is 50, meaning that it has 50 protons and 50 electrons. Since protons are positively charged and electrons are negatively charged, and since they balance out each other, an atom of tin is neutrally charged. Tin’s atomic mass is 118, meaning that the combined mass of the neutrons, protons and electrons in tin are 118. The number of neutrons (neutrons being neutrally charged particles inside the nucleus of an atom) in the atom of tin is represented by the equation #Neutrons=Atomic Mass-Atomic Number, which in this case is 68, so Tin has 68 neutrons.=

Bibliography-
Period, The Medieval. "Tin." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 09 June 2010. . Gagnon, Steve. "It's Elemental - The Element Tin." Science Education at Jefferson Lab. Web. 09 June 2010. .