Phosphine

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/phosphine

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the chemical formula?PH3
2. What is the IUPAC name?Phosphane
3. What does phosphine smell like?Pure phosphine is odorless, but technical samples often smell like rotten fish because of impurities like diphosphane.
4. Why does phosphine catch fire by itself?Tiny amounts of diphosphane make phosphine pyrophoric, so it can ignite when it touches air without any spark.

Pnictogen Hydride: A binary compound of a pnictogen element (Group 15) with hydrogen.
Pyrophoric: A substance that ignites spontaneously in air without external ignition.
Respiratory Poison: A toxic substance that primarily affects the respiratory system.
Trigonal Pyramidal: A molecular geometry where an atom is bonded to three other atoms, with a lone pair of electrons, forming a pyramid shape.