2. Derived from the Latin word arsenicum and
the Greek word arsenikos, meaning
“masculine” or “male”
Known since Ancient Rome and Greece, but
many craftsman saw the element without
realizing what is was.
Credit for the discovery goes to the alchemist
Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus) in 1250
A.D.
3. Solid at room temperature
Three distinct forms
◦ Gray metallic sheen
◦ Yellow arsenic, prepared by cooling gray arsenic
vapor in liquid air
◦ Black arsenic, developed by cooling arsenic vapor at
100°C-200°C
4. Melting Point: 1090 K (817°C)
Boiling Point: 887 K (614°C)
◦ Melting Point is higher because in order to form
liquid arsenic, the atmospheric pressure must be
increased by 28 times
Density: At 293 K, 5.72g/cm3
5. 33 known isotopes and 10 isomers
As-75 is the only one that occurs naturally
and is stable
14 radioactive isotopes
None of the isotopes have any important commercial
use
As-75
6. Found in abundance in the earth’s crust, and
small quantities in rock, soil, water and air
Industrial processes contribute to presence of
arsenic in the air, water, and soil
Present in many different forms
◦ Adheres to particles in the atmosphere
◦ Is in the stable form arsenate in water
◦ Strongly adheres to weathered rock and soil
7. People can remove arsenic from its ores by
first, heating it to chemically convert arsenic
sulfide to arsenic oxide
Arsenic oxide is heated with charcoal (pure
carbon)
The carbon reacts with the oxygen, leaving
behind pure arsenic
Cost (pure): $320 per 100 g
8. Does not have many uses by itself, but is used in
compounds:
◦ Lead arsenate, calcium arsenate, and paris green are
used in rat poisons, pesticides, herbicides, and
insecticides
◦ Chromated copper arsenate is used as a wood preserver
due to toxicity to insects, bacteria, and fungus
◦ Added to germanium to make transistors
◦ Gallium arsenide to produce laser light from electricity
◦ Arsphenamine and arsenic trioxide were prescribed for
syphilis and trypanosomiasis
◦ Used in ammunition to create harder, rounder bullets
9. Used in Middle Ages as poison to commit
murder. Named “King of Poison”
Does not melt when heated, but instead
changes straight to a vapor
Atomic mass: 74.9216 amu
Top producers of arsenic are China, Peru,
Chile, and Morocco.
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11/10/2011 <http://www.chemicool.com/elements/arsenic.html>
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Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://www.chemistryexplained.com/elements/
A-C/Arsenic.html>
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Lounge - Online Lifestyle Magazine - Lifestyle Management Tips. Web.
10 Nov. 2011. <http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/arsenic- facts-
8977.html>
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Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Web. 10 Nov. 2011.
<http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele033.html>
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