CAL-CI-UM
You must have heard of calcium before. Calcium (Ca) is an important element that helps your bones stay strong and able to support your weight. Your nervous system also uses calcium to help transmit impulses through your body.
Humans have known about calcium and calcium containing compounds since before the Greeks and Romans. Romans used lime in their concrete and gave it the name "Calx." That name was used when Davy was the first chemist to isolate pure calcium in 1808. When you think of calcium, you might think of a white powder, but when purified, calcium is a hard silver-colored metal.
You will find calcium in the second column of the period table with other elements including beryllium and magnesium. The elements in that column make up the alkali earth metal family.
Where can you find calcium?
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Bones and Teeth Of course, there are many necessary elements that your body needs. Calcium is super important because it gives strength to your bones and teeth. |
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Crust of the Earth Three percent of the Earth's crust is made of calcium. It's everywhere, but you rarely find it alone. It's almost always in some compound with other elements. |
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Shells Clams, oysters, and other animals in the oceans have shells. When you do a little looking, you will find out that their shells are made with Calcium. It's not pure calcium, but it adds strength the way it does in your bones and teeth. |
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Teacher's Chalk We're not sure if this is still true. But once upon a time, your teacher's chalk was made with calcium carbonate. |
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Cement Lime is an important substance when you manufacture cement and eventually concrete. We wouldn't list it here if it weren't true, but you will find that calcium is a major element in that mixture. |
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Nerves and Muscles While calcium is super important to your bones and teeth, it's just as important in smaller amounts to your nerves and muscles. On an atomic level, calcium ions are used to trigger nervous and muscular activity. |
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