Rhenium

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/rhenium

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 element symbol?Re
2. What is the atomic number?75
3. What is rhenium and why is it called a super-rare metal?Rhenium is a very rare metal found at about 1 part per billion in the Earth's crust. It is called super-rare because it is one of the rarest naturally occurring elements.
4. How does rhenium help airplanes fly faster and farther?Rhenium is added to nickel-based superalloys used in jet engines. It makes the alloys stronger and able to resist heat and wear, so turbine blades and other parts can work better at high temperatures.

Refractory Metal: A metal with a very high melting point, resistant to heat and wear.
Transition Metal: Elements characterized by partially filled d orbitals, exhibiting variable oxidation states and forming colored compounds.
Superalloy: Metals or alloys designed to operate at high temperatures and under significant mechanical stress.
Catalyst: A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing permanent chemical change.