Selenium

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/selenium

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. Who discovered Selenium?1817
2. What is the element symbol?Se
3. What is the discoverer?Jöns Jacob Berzelius
4. What is selenium and why does it look like metal?Selenium is a shiny element that can be a metal-like solid, a red powder, or a black glassy solid. It is a metalloid, meaning it has properties of both metals and nonmetals.
5. Why is selenium called the Moon Element?The name comes from the Greek word for moon, selene, because it was named after tellurium, which was named after Earth. Scientists liked the idea of a moon element.

Metalloid: An element with properties intermediate between metals and nonmetals.
Allotropes: Different structural modifications of the same element in the same physical state.
Photoconductivity: The property of a material to conduct electricity when exposed to electromagnetic radiation.
Selenoproteins: Proteins that contain selenium in their structure, performing vital biological functions.