Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
-----
Need info. on Zinc for a chemistry project
2001
Q. I'm doing some research on the element, Zinc. And I am looking for some facts on Zinc. What I need to know is:
* The origin of meaning?
* When Zinc was discovered?
* How or who discovered zinc?
* Source: how it is found in nature or how it is produced?
* Properties of Zinc:
-melting point?
-boiling point?
-sp.gravity?
-oxidation state?
-electron configuration?
-isotopes?
* Dangers of Zinc?
If there is a possible chance that you could give me a response on these questions as soon a possible, it would be greatly appreciated and it would be very helpful to me. I appreciate your time and help. Thank you! It will help me greatly with my research on Zinc.
Katie N [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Spring, Texas
Hi, Katie. Teachers write to us begging us to "please just tell the students to do their own homework". But if you research the answers to some of your questions, but get stumped by a few, I'm sure people will help.
Please phrase your questions as if you are finding most answers but need one or two clues, as opposed to simply posting your entire assignment in hopes of someone doing it for you :-)
Good luck!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2001
A. Hello Katie!
A source of the information you seek is either www.webelements.com, or www.chemicalelements.com
Webelements is a superb periodic table brimming with information, put together by Mark Winter at Sheffield University in the UK. Chemical Elements was developed by Yinon Bentor, a student, for a science fair project!
Another, possibly more enjoyable periodic table is The Comic Book Periodic Table, at www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/
YOU should be able to find out all YOU want to know about zinc at these sites.
Good luck!
Lee Gearhart
metallurgist - E. Aurora, New York
2001
A. Katie,
You might try running a search for the website of the Zinc Industry Council.
Gene Packmanprocess supplier - Great Neck, New York
2001
Katie
Discovery- Andreas Marggraf discovered zinc in 1500 in Germany.
Tiffany B [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
2004
Katie,
In adding to the last question, wasn't zinc found in 1746, not 1500? I was just wondering.Thanks.
- Shelby Twp., Michigan
2006
Although it is often impossible to put a fine point on such answers, Tiffany and Tamber, Andreas Marggraf produced pure zinc from calamine, and he lived from 1709-1782. So I'd say your 1746 date is the right one, Tamber, and the date of 1500 found on webelements.com is apparently wrong.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006
Q. Hi everyone,
I need to know HOW zinc was discovered. I have tried looking on MANY MANY websites, yet can't find anything. I know in 1746, Andreas Marggraf heated charcoal and calamine. But that doesn't really give an in-depth answer about HOW he discovered zinc. If anyone could help me, I would really appreciate it. I REALLY need help with this.
Thanks,
Tanya M [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]school - Bayside, New York
2006
A. Let me be an old fogey and say that some questions are better answered at a library than by a web search, Tanya -- books have a far deeper pattern of organization than websites, and are far more accurate. Presumably you've seen the many internet references to Marggraf discovering zinc in 1500 -- although he wasn't born until 1709. A book author doesn't often make silly mistakes like that.
Zinc - The Metal, Its Alloys and Compounds ⇦[this on on Amazon affil links] by C.H. Mathewson has an 8-page historical background (which never even mentions Andreas Marggraf); and another source says chemist Anton von Swab did the exact same experiment four years earlier, unbeknownst to Marggraf.Marggraf didn't exactly "discover" zinc; what he did was determine that when calamine is heated in the presence of carbon, the carbon "reduces" the zinc content to metallic zinc. Presumably he saw metallic zinc in his beakers after he did the experiment, and his contribution was more along the lines of isolating zinc from other metals, and describing a reasonable way of getting relatively pure zinc, than actually "discovering" it since it had already been around for a while. Good luck with the assignment!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006
2007
Hey Katie,
My name is Kate and I'm doing an assignment the same as yours, did you get any answers? but anyway, I do know that the name zinc came from the German word zin meaning tin.
Anyway, good luck with your assignment!
luv Kate
- Victoria, Australia
2007
Hi,
My name is chelsea,
Who did the discovery of zinc before Marggrat?
- marshall, Michigan
2007
I just finished saying that Anton von Swab did that, Chelsea :-)
Problem is, can you trust what you read in public forums? I'd use them as helpful guides towards what to look for. So try to get to a library and find a book with info about him. But, if that's not going to happen, google his name. Good luck!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2007
I am doing a project on Zinc. I know for a fact when zinc was discovered. Here is a part of my project that I know is a fact for sure.
Zinc is a very common metal discovered by Andreas Marggraf in the year 1746. Zinc's origin name comes from the German word Zink, since Andreas was a German man. It is said that Andreas discovered Zinc by heating calamine and charcoal.
It's a for sure fact
buyer - Berlin, Massachusetts
Hi, Hallie. Thanks. Yes, that is "for sure fact". But it's also for sure fact that Columbus discovered America, and for sure fact that there were already people here when he arrived :-)
The problem is that "discovered" may not the same thing as "the first person to ever know about".
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
May 2008
Hi I need some help for my science project and it due soon answer ASAP Thanks! What was Anton Von Swab doing when he discovered zinc?
Hannah S [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Canada
May 20, 2008
hey honey, we just had to do this as it is best to find it yourself, some of what you got here is wrong and I'm not sayn anything cuz I may be wrong too but zinc was dis. in around 1374 in India. but I will do some more research and we will get this together.
cecilia d [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Indiana
November 5, 2009
Hi, Cecilia. Please let us know what you find out because it is perfectly possible that you are right. Back in 1374, discoveries weren't Twittered -- things were discovered in parallel in different areas of the world.
To put it in perspective, Vasco DeGama wouldn't reach India for the first time until 124 years later. In fact, the first of the famous Western explorers, Prince Henry the Navigator, wasn't even born yet. Even if land routes weren't difficult due to the distance and terrain, the most powerful nation in the world, Persia, sworn enemy to the Europeans through 200 years of Crusades, lay between them. Communication of discoveries between India and Europe was virtually impossible.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
November 9, 2009
Q. I need some help. I am Brianna and I have been looking for about 4 hours and can't find the state of matter of zinc. Can you help me?
Brianna [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Massachusetts, united states
March 7, 2010
March 9, 2010
Hi, Brianna. When your teacher asks you a question like this, there are three possibilities --
- First: you already know the answer;
- Second: you don't know the answer, but will have to research it or calculate it;
- Third: you don't really even understand the question.
It is crucially important for your success in school that you instantly recognize the difference between the second and third possibility. Because if you don't understand his/her question, you can't possibly get the right answer except by a lucky guess. When you are in situation three, you have to learn to tell your teacher that you don't understand the question.
There are 3 common states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. Solids like bricks have shape and size. Liquids like water have size but no fixed shape. Gases like air have neither size nor shape, they will expand to fill the available space. Most metals at room temperature are solids, including zinc. But most will melt to liquids and finally vaporize to gas if the temperature is hot enough.
Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. Hey, my name is Makayla, I'm in 8th grade, I'm doing a project on zinc. How was it discovered?
- Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, United States
November 21, 2011
Hi, Makayla.
Education is not about answers on silver platters, ready for cutting and pasting. It's about fighting and struggling to study and comprehend. So please struggle to phrase your question in terms of what has already been said on the page. Thanks.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
November 22, 2011
Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread