Ep. 202: The 7 Noble Gases Memory Mnemonic – RANK HOX
Intro
Hello and welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.
I’m Jans, your Mnemonic Man, and today's episode will be on group 18 on the periodic table, the seven noble gases.
The noble gases are called “noble” because they are largely unreactive, similar to how “noble” metals like gold and platinum were historically considered unreactive.
The term “unreactive” is due to their full outer electron shell, which mitigates chemical bonding with other elements.
The noble gases consist of six naturally occurring elements in Group 18 of the periodic table: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon, and one synthetic element, Oganesson. This synthetic element is relatively new to the group, and the jury is still out as to whether it qualifies correctly to be a noble gas (it could be the Pluto of the noble gases.)
Noble gases are odorless, tasteless, colourless, and non-flammable at room temperature.
Argon was the first to be discovered in 1894 by Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay. Sir William Ramsay then went on to discover the five remaining noble gases, while Oganesson was discovered by a team of scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia.
These noble gases exist in the atmosphere, but can also be trapped in minerals or extracted from natural gas deposits.
Today’s mnemonic will be on the seven noble gases of the periodic table.
So, with that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Summary
The noble gases (historically the inert gases, sometimes referred to as aerogens[1]) are the members of group 18 of the periodic table: helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), radon (Rn) and, in some cases, oganesson (Og). Under standard conditions, the first six of these elements are odorless, colorless, monatomic gases with very low chemical reactivity and cryogenic boiling points. The properties of oganesson are uncertain.
The intermolecular force between noble gas atoms is the very weak London dispersion force, so their boiling points are all cryogenic, below 165 K (−108 °C; −163 °F).[2]
The noble gases' inertness, or tendency not to react with other chemical substances, results from their electron configuration: their outer shell of valence electrons is "full", giving them little tendency to participate in chemical reactions. Only a few hundred noble gas compounds are known to exist.
The inertness of noble gases makes them useful whenever chemical reactions are unwanted. For example, argon is used as a shielding gas in welding and as a filler gas in incandescent light bulbs. Helium is used to provide buoyancy in blimps and balloons.
Helium and neon are also used as refrigerants due to their low boiling points. Industrial quantities of the noble gases, except for radon, are obtained by separating them from air using the methods of liquefaction of gases and fractional distillation. Helium is also a byproduct of the mining of natural gas. Radon is usually isolated from the radioactive decay of dissolved radium, thorium, or uranium compounds.
The seventh member of group 18 is oganesson, an unstable synthetic element whose chemistry is still uncertain because only five very short-lived atoms (t1/2 = 0.69 ms) have ever been synthesized (as of 2020[3]).
IUPAC uses the term "noble gas" interchangeably with "group 18" and thus includes oganesson;[4] however, due to relativistic effects, oganesson is predicted to be a solid under standard conditions and reactive enough not to qualify functionally as "noble".[3]
Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_gas]
Memory Mnemonic
The 7 Noble Gases Memory Mnemonic – RANK HOX
(Picture Dmitri Mendeleev, the creator of the periodic table, arguing that it was not a rank hoax that all the noble gases are in group 18)
1. Radon – Rn
2. Argon – Ar
3. Neon – Ne
4. Krypton – Kr
5. Helium – He
6. Oganesson – Og
7. Xenon – Xe
Five Fun Facts
1. Many of the noble gases were either discovered or isolated by Scottish chemist, Sir William Ramsay. His interest was sparked by Lord Rayleigh’s finding that nitrogen extracted from the air had a higher density than nitrogen produced by chemical reactions, which suggested the presence of another gas or gases in the atmosphere.
2. Noble Gases are extremely stable and rarely react with other elements and that’s why there will be no noble gas jokes today, because basically, I can never get a reaction from them! Back to the fact. This is due to their full and therefore stable configuration of their electron shells, where they don’t really gain, lose, or share electrons to form chemical bonds.
3. Neon lights are not always neon. Bright neon signs often use other gases, like argon or krypton, to produce different colours. Pure neon glows a reddish-orange, but adding coatings or different gases creates greens, blues, and purples. So, a “neon” pink café sign might not have a drop of neon in it.
4. The noble gas Xenon can make you sleepy. Xenon is a heavy and rare noble gas, which has anaesthetic properties and has been used in surgery. It works quickly and wears off without many of the side effects.
5. The Noble gases have many uses in today’s world. Some of these include:
· Helium, which is used for inflating balloons and airships, and also used for welding, cooling, and diving
· Neon is used for signs and lasers
· Argon for welding, light bulbs, and an inert atmosphere
· Krypton for light bulbs, lasers, and photography
· Xenon for stroboscopic lights, medical imaging, anaesthesia, lasers, and lighthouses
· And finally, radon for radiotherapy
Three-Question Quiz
Q.1. What numbered group in the periodic table are the noble gases in?
Q.2. Noble gases can also be referred to as what gases?
Q.3. Which noble gas is the second most abundant in the universe?
Bonus Q. What number on the periodic table is the synthetic noble gas Oganesson?
Memory Mnemonic Recap
The 7 Noble Gases Memory Mnemonic – RANK HOX
(Picture Dmitri Mendeleev, the creator of the periodic table, arguing that it was not a rank hoax that all the noble gases are in group 18)
1. Radon – Rn
2. Argon – Ar
3. Neon – Ne
4. Krypton – Kr
5. Helium – He
6. Oganesson – Og
7. Xenon – Xe
Three-Question Quiz Answers
Q.1. What numbered group in the periodic table are the noble gases in?
A. Group 18
Q.2. Noble gases can also be referred to as what gases?
A. Inert Gases or Aerogen Gases
Q.3. Which noble gas is the second most abundant in the universe?
A. Helium, which makes up about 24% of the mass of the elements in the universe, follows the most abundant, which is Hydrogen
Bonus Q. What number on the periodic table is the synthetic noble gas Oganesson?
A. 118, which is the highest number on the periodic table
Word of the Week
infinitesimal
[ in-fin-i-tes-uh-muhl ]
adjective
immeasurably small; less than an assignable quantity.
Example
There is an infinitesimal amount of noble gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, except for argon, which accounts for just under one percent.
Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]
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References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_gas