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CALCIUM
Links:
Introduction Classification Description Physical Properties
Electron Configuration and Bonding Thermochemistry Video
Isotopes Reactions Abundance Compounds
Safety Languages For More Information Sources
  Periodic Table  
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Introduction

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Atomic Number: 20 Group: 2 or II A 20 40.078
Average Atomic Mass: 40.078 Period: 4

Ca
   

CAS Number:

 7440-70-2
      Calcium
Classification

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Metal Nonmetal Metalloid    
Alkali Metal Alkali Earth Metal Transition Metal Chalcogen Halogen
Noble Gas Lanthanoid Actinoid

Rare Earth Metal

  
Transuranium No Stable Isotopes      
Solid Liquid Gas

Assumed Solid

  
Description

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Though lime was prepared by the Romans in the first century under the name calx, the metal was not discovered until 1808. After learning that Berzelius and Pontin prepared calcium amalgam by electrolyzing lime in mercury, Davy was able to isolate the impure metal. Calcium is a metallic element, fifth in abundance in the earth’s crust, of which it forms more than 3%. It is an essential constituent of leaves, bones, teeth, and shells. Never found in nature uncombined, it occurs abundantly as limestone (CaCO3), gypsum (CaSO4 · 2H2O), and fluorite (CaF2); apatite is the fluorophosphate or chlorophosphate of calcium. The metal has a silvery color, is rather hard, and is prepared by electrolysis of the fused chloride to which calcium fluoride is added to lower the melting point. Chemically it is one of the alkaline earth elements; it readily forms a white coating of oxide in air, reacts with water, burns with a yellow-red flame, forming largely the oxide. The metal is used as a reducing agent in preparing other metals such as thorium, uranium, zirconium, etc., and is used as a deoxidizer, desulfurizer, and inclusion modifier for various ferrous and nonferrous alloys. It is also used as an alloying agent for aluminum, beryllium, copper, lead, and magnesium alloys, and serves as a “getter” for residual gases in vacuum tubes, etc. Its natural and prepared compounds are widely used. Quicklime (CaO), made by heating limestone and changed into slaked lime by the careful addition of water, is the great cheap base of chemical industry with countless uses. Mixed with sand it hardens as mortar and plaster by taking up carbon dioxide from the air. Calcium from limestone is an important element in Portland cement. The solubility of the carbonate in water containing carbon dioxide causes the formation of caves with stalactites and stalagmites and is responsible for hardness in water. Other important compounds are the carbide (CaC2), chloride (CaCl2), cyanamide (CaCN2), hypochlorite (Ca(OCl)2), nitrate (Ca(NO3)2), and sulfide (CaS). Natural calcium contains six isotopes. Thirteen other radioactive isotopes are known. Metallic calcium (99.5%) costs about $200/kg. 1
Physical Properties

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Normal Melting Point: 842 °C = 1115.15 K = 1547.6 °F 2 Normal Boiling Point: 1484 °C = 1757.15 K = 2703.2 °F 2
Sublimation Point: Triple Point:
Critical Point:
Density: 1.55 g/cm3 Crystal Structure: cubic: face centered
Atomic Radius: 2.23 Ǻ = 223 pm Covalent Radius: 1.74 Ǻ = 174 pm
Ionic Radius: 1 Ǻ = 100 pm Atomic Volume: 25.9 cm3/mol
Qualitative Solubility: d; s acid 3
Note: Unless otherwise stated, solubility is for water at 25 degrees Celsius.
Electron Configuration and Bonding

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Predicted Electron Configuration: [Ar] 4s2

Lewis Dot Diagram
Actual Electron Configuration: [Ar] 4s2  

x

 
Block: s

Ca

x
Highest Occupied Energy Level: 4

Valence Electrons: 2  

 
Quantum Numbers: n = 4 ℓ = 0 mℓ = 0 ms = -½        
Please note that information in this section can be derived entirely from the periodic table.  Although most people do not discuss valence electrons of the d-block and f-block elements, on this page the number of electrons in the highest energy level of the actual electron configuration was used to determine valence electrons.
Electronegativity (Pauling): 1 Electropositivity (Pauling): 3
Electron Affinity: 0.04 eV = 3.86 kJ/mol = 0.92 kcal/mol Oxidation States: +2
Work Function:4 2.71 eV = 4.34142E-19 J  
Ionization Potential 5 eV kJ/mol Ionization Potential 5 eV kJ/mol
1 6.11316 589.8 11 591.9 57109.7
2 11.87172 1145.4 12 657.2 63410.1
3 50.9131 4912.4 13 726.6 70106.2
4 67.27 6490.6 14 817.6 78886.4
5 84.5 8153.0 15 894.5 86306.1
6 108.78 10495.7 16 974 93976.7
7 127.2 12272.9 17 1087 104879.5
8 147.24 14206.5 18 1157.8 111710.7
9 188.54 18191.3 19 5128.8 494853.9
10 211.275 20384.9 20 5469.864 527761.5
Note: Only the electronvolt values are given in the CRC Handbook, a conversion factor was used to find the kJ/mol value.
Thermochemistry

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Specific Heat: 0.63 J/g°C = 0.151 cal/g°C Thermal Conductivity: 200 (W/m)/K, 27ºC
Heat of Fusion: 8.54 kJ/mol = 213.1 J/g Heat of Vaporization: 153.3 kJ/mol = 3825.0 J/g
State of Matter Enthalpy of Formation Entropy of Formation Gibbs Free Energy
(kcal/mol) (kJ/mol) (cal/K) (J/K) (kcal/mol) (kJ/mol)
(s) 0 0 9.90 41.4216 0 0
(l) 2.61 10.92024 12.11 50.66824 1.96 8.20064
(g) 42.85 179.2844 36.99 154.76616 34.78 145.51952
Video

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Video on calcium from the University of Nottingham's periodicvideos.com
Calcium metal is added to a beaker of water. Phenolphthalein indicator immediately changes the solution pink because one of the products, calcium hydroxide, is basic. The other product, hydrogen gas, is visible as the gas evolved at the top of the beaker.
Isotopes

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Nuclide Mass Half-Life Nuclear Spin Binding Energy (kJ/mol)
34Ca 34.01412(32)# <35 ns 0+ 23076604414.7353
35Ca 35.00494(21)# 25.7(2) ms 1/2+# 24754827732.0237
36Ca 35.99309(4) 102(2) ms 0+ 26522932286.5135
37Ca 36.985870(24) 181.1(10) ms (3/2+) 28021393129.3986
38Ca 37.976318(5) 440(8) ms 0+ 29609735209.4857
39Ca 38.9707197(20) 859.6(14) ms 3/2+ 30928433577.9651
40Ca 39.96259098(22) STABLE 0+ 32426894420.8489
41Ca 40.96227806(26) 1.02(7)E+5 a 7/2- 33206305366.1159
42Ca 41.95861801(27) STABLE 0+ 34345241260.192
43Ca 42.9587666(3) STABLE 7/2- 35124652205.4596
44Ca 43.9554818(4) STABLE 0+ 36173706862.3331
45Ca 44.9561866(4) 162.67(25) d 7/2- 36863236570.3975
46Ca 45.9536926(24) STABLE 0+ 37912291227.271
47Ca 46.9545460(24) 4.536(3) d 7/2- 38601820935.3366
48Ca 47.952534(4) 43(38)E+18 a 0+ 39560994355.0088
49Ca 48.955674(4) 8.718(6) min 3/2- 40070761588.6692
50Ca 49.957519(10) 13.9(6) s 0+ 40670410059.5317
51Ca 50.9615(1) 10.0(8) s (3/2-)# 41090296055.9908
52Ca 51.96510(75) 4.6(3) s 0+ 41510182052.4487
53Ca 52.97005(54)# 90(15) ms 3/2-# 41840186811.7053
54Ca 53.97435(75)# 50# ms [>300 ns] 0+ 42260072808.1645
55Ca 54.98055(75)# 30# ms [>300 ns] 5/2-# 42500196330.2191
56Ca 55.98557(97)# 10# ms [>300 ns] 0+ 42830201089.4756
57Ca 56.99236(107)# 5# ms 5/2-# 42980443374.3277
Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from systematic trends. Spins with weak assignment arguments are enclosed in parentheses. 6
Reactions

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Calcium metal reacts with water to produce a solution of calcium hydroxide and hydrogen is evolved.
Many metals react with oxygen gas to form the metal oxide. An example is the reaction of calcium with oxygen, producing calcium oxide.
In some cases, an active metal, such as calcium, must be used to recover an even more active metal. This is necessary to obtain rubidium, which is obtained (as a gas) when calcium is added to liquid rubidium chloride. The liquid calcium chloride is also obtained.
Abundance

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Earth: Source Compounds: carbonates/sulfates 7
Earth: Ocean Water: 412 mg/L 8
Earth: Crust: 41500 mg/kg = 4.15% 8
Earth: Mantle: 2.1% 9
Earth: Lithosphere: 4.66% 10
Earth: Hydrosphere: 0.05% 10
Earth: Total: 1.54% 11
Mercury: Total: 1.18% 11
Venus: Total: 1.61% 11
Universe: Total: 0.007% 9
Human Body: Total: 1.4% 12
Compounds

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calcium acetate calcium fumarate calcium pantothenate
calcium acetate monohydrate calcium gluconate calcium perchlorate
calcium aluminate calcium hydride calcium permanganate
calcium arsenate calcium hydrogen phosphate calcium peroxide
calcium bisulfite calcium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate calcium perrhenate
calcium boride calcium hydrogenorthophosphate calcium phosphate
calcium bromide calcium hydroxide calcium phosphide
calcium bromide dihydrate calcium hypochlorite calcium propionate
calcium carbide calcium hypophosphite calcium pyrophosphate
calcium carbonate calcium iodate calcium selenide
calcium chlorate calcium iodate monohydrate calcium silicate
calcium chloride calcium iodide calcium silicide
calcium chloride dihydrate calcium lactate pentahydrate calcium stearate
calcium chloride hexahydrate calcium lignosulfonate calcium sulfate
calcium chromate calcium magnesium carbonate calcium sulfate dihydrate
calcium citrate calcium molybdate calcium sulfate hemihydrate
calcium cyanamide calcium nitrate calcium sulfide
calcium cyanide calcium nitrate hydrate calcium sulfite
calcium dichromate calcium nitrate tetrahydrate calcium telluride
calcium dihydrogen phosphate monohydrate calcium nitride calcium tetrahydroaluminate
calcium dodecylbenzenesulfonate calcium nitrite calcium titanate
calcium fluoride calcium oxalate calcium tungstate
calcium formate calcium oxide
Safety

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Note: Not every link below has an entry for every element on the periodic table.  Sites were selected based on those that had a large number of element and compound entries.
Scorecard's Pollution Information − not an MSDS, but it does provide basic information (among other things) on human heath hazards and industrial uses.
Although not truly an MSDS, Oxford University's Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory does provide some basic information.
Iowa State University
ESPI Metals
Languages

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Afrikaans: Kalsium Albanian: Kalcium Armenian: Կալցիում Arabic: كالسيوم
Aromanian: Caltsiumu Basque: Kaltzioa Bosnian: Kalcij Breton: Kalsiom
Bulgarian: Калций Byelorussian: Кальцый Catalan: Calci Chinese: 铯
Cornish: Calcyum Croatian: Kalcij Czech: Vápník Danish: Calcium or Kalcium
Dutch: Calcium Esperanto: Kalcio Estonian: Kaltsium Faroese: Kalsium
Finnish: Kalsium French: Calcium Friulian: Calci Frisian: Kalsium
Galician: Calcio Georgian: კალციუმი German: Kalzium Greek: Ασβεστιο
Hebrew: סידן Hungarian: Kalcium Icelandic: Kalsín Irish Gaelic: Cailciam
Italian: Calcio Japanese: カルシウム Kashubian: Kalcén Kazakh: Кальций
Korean: 칼슘 Latvian: Kalcijs Lithuanian: Kalcis Luxembourgish: Kalzium
Macedonian: Калциум Malay: Kalsium Maltese: Kalsjum Manx Gaelic: Kelkium
Mokshan: Пургев Mongolian: Кальци Norwegian: Kalsium Occitan: Calci
Ossetian: Кальций Polish: Wapn Portuguese: Cálcio Russian: Кальций
Scottish Gaelic: Cailciam Serbian: Калциjум Slovak: Vápník Spanish: Calcio
Sudovian: Kalcijan Swahili: Kalisi Swedish: Kalcium Tajik: Kal'ci'
Thai: แคลเซียม Turkish: Kalsiyum Ukranian: Кальцій Uzbek: Кальций
Vietnamese: Canxi Welsh: Calsiwm        
For More Information

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From Online Periodic Tables:
About.com American Elements
Chemical & Engineering News Chemical Elements
ChemGlobe Chemicool
Environmental Chemistry Eni Generalic
HyperPhysics from Georgia State University's Department of Physics and Astronomy InfoPlease
Lenntech Los Alamos National Laboratory
Physics Department of the University of Coimbra Qivx Inc.
Royal Society of Chemistry's Visual Elements Schenectady County Community College
Thomas Jefferson Lab National Accelerator Facility WebElements
Wikipedia X-ray properties: Carlo Segre from Illinois Institute of Technology
Sources

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(1) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4-7.
(2) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4-132.
(3) - Dean, John A. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 11th ed.; McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, NY, 1973; p 4-8 - 4-149.
(4) - Speight, James. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 16th ed.; McGraw-Hill Professional: Boston, MA, 2004; p 1-132.
(5) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 10-178 - 10-180.
(6) - Atomic Mass Data Center. http://amdc.in2p3.fr/web/nubase_en.html (accessed July 14, 2009).
(7) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 965.
(8) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 14-17.
(9) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 962.
(10) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 964.
(11) - Morgan, John W. and Anders, Edward, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 6973-6977 (1980)
(12) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 7-17.

CALCIUM

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Last update: Thursday, August 12, 2010