Uses for Elements in the Carbon Family

1
Uses for Elements in the Carbon Family

• Some Interesting Facts

2
Members of the Carbon Family

• Carbon
• Silicon
• Germanium
• Tin
• Lead

3
What do they have in common?

• SOME FAMILY
• Some are metals, some are nonmetals, and some are
  metalloids
• Lead is poisonous, but carbon is essential to
  life
• The all look really different

• BUT
• They all have 4 valence electrons.
• They react in similar ratios with oxygen and
  other elements.
• They can form up to 4 bonds more than any other
  family!!

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Carbon

• Carbon is found in every living creature.
• Elemental carbon can be black (graphite), or hard
  and beautiful (diamonds).
• Building block of fossil fuels (gasoline and oil)
  
• Basis of organic chemistry

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Silicon

• Important semi-conductor used in computer chips,
  solar cells, and transistors.
• Second most plentiful element in the earths
  crust.
• SiO2 is the main ingredient in glass.

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Germanium

• Important for its semiconductor properties.
• One of few substances that expand when frozen.
• Can be recovered from refining zinc ores or from
  the gases of coal combustion.

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Lead

• Extensively used in plumbing.
• Used to be added to gasoline to prevent engine
  knocking.
• Used to block radiation very dense metal
• Neurotoxin may have contributed to fall of the
  Roman empire.

8
Tin

• Once used to make disposable cans, now cheaper
  aluminum cans are coated inside with tin.
• Has been known for centuries and used for its
  relative non-reactivity.