Page 4 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

An element is a substance that cannot
be broken down into a simpler substance by any known means. Each of the 92 naturally occurring elements is therefore one of
the fundamental materials from which everything in the Universe is made. This book is about copper, silver and gold.
These three elements are often called the “coinage metals” because they are used to make most of the world’s coins. One reason for this is that none of the coinage metals
is very reactive with other elements, and therefore they are very resistant to corrosion.
Copper
Copper, a soft orangy-coloured metal,
was one of the first metals to be used in the ancient world. It has been exploited for at least 7000 years. Its name comes from the Latin, cuprum, which means “metal of Cyprus”, an island in the Mediterranean Sea where the Romans had large
copper mines.
Copper is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and is found in most of the flexible cables used in the world. Its softness also makes it suitable for tubing for water pipes and central heating systems, because it can be soldered easily and readily bent
to fit around corners. Above all, it can be mixed with other metals to make extremely useful alloys such as brass and bronze.
 New York’s Statue
of Liberty has a pleasing green patina, but the copper is otherwise
little affected even after a century of exposure to the weather.
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