Page 49 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Y see Yttrium Ytterbium (Yb)
Element 70.A metal belonging to the rare-earth metals (lanthanides) in the Periodic Table. It has a bright silvery lustre and is soft and easily worked.
It corrodes quite easily in air and water, and needs to be kept in closed containers to protect it from air and moisture. It reacts easily with acids.
Discovery
Discovered in Switzerland in 1878 by Jean-Charles Galinard de Marignac, who named it after the Swedish town ofYtterby. In 1907 and 1908 Georges Urbain of France and Carl Auer von Welsbach of Austria independently separated ytterbium into
two elements. One of them retained the name ytterbium, while the other was called lutetium.
Technology
Ytterbium can be used as an alloy to improve the strength of stainless steel. It can also be used in magnetic materials.
It has also been a radiation source for portable X-ray machines.
Geology
Ytterbium is not found as a native element, but in gadolinite, euxenite and xenotime ores with other rare-earth elements. It is the 44th most abundant element in the Earth’s surface rocks.
Biology
Ytterbium is not found in living things.
Key facts...
Name: ytterbium (originally called ytterbia) Symbol: Yb
Atomic number: 70
Atomic weight: 173
Position in Periodic Table: inner transition metal; period 6 (lanthanide series)
State at room temperature: solid Colour: silvery
Density of solid: 6.97 g/cc Melting point: 824°C
Boiling point: 1,193°C
Origin of name: named after the town of Ytterby
in Sweden
Shell pattern of electrons: 2–8–18–32–8–2
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