3.1 Three elements
Summary: Figure 1 shows the Museum of Fire in Poland. Its walls are covered in shiny copper. Copper is an element. Tags: science oxford-science student-book-7 chemistry Created: 2026-05-19 Last Updated: 2026-05-19
After this topic, you will be able to:
- describe the properties of three Elements
- explain how the uses of three elements are determined by their properties.
Think back
- What is an element?
- How many elements are there: about 10, about 100, or about 1000?
- What is a property in science?
Key idea Copper is a metal element used in cables. Sulfur is a non-metal element used in fertilizers. Germanium is an element that has some properties like metals, and some like non-metals.
Key words metal, non-metal
Figure 1 shows the Museum of Fire in Poland. Its walls are covered in shiny copper. Copper is an element.
Figure 1The Museum of Fire.
How is copper useful?
The architects chose copper for the museum because of its properties. Copper is a metal. It has an orange-brown colour and, like most metals, it is shiny. Copper is easy to shape into thin sheets.
Copper is also an excellent conductor of electricity. In a solar farm, long copper cables connect the solar panels (see Figures 2 and 3). Every year, Energy companies install more and more solar farms. This means that, every year, they need more and more copper.
Figure 2A solar farm, where we get electrical energy from sunlight.
Figure 3Copper cables.
A Explain why copper is used to make electric cables.
What is sulfur?
Figure 4 shows some sulfur, which is an element. People have known about sulfur for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians used sulfur to treat swollen eyelids. In China, it was used in gunpowder. Today, sulfur is mostly used to make fertilizers.
Figure 4This sulfur was produced alongside oil in Kazakhstan.
Sulfur is a non-metal element. It is not shiny, and does not conduct electricity. It is brittle, so breaks easily if it falls.
B Compare the properties of the elements copper and sulfur.
What is germanium?
If you have internet in your home, how fast is it? If you have high-Speed internet, Light carries data along fibre optic cables to your street. The glass in the cables includes germanium. Germanium can change the direction of light more than almost any other substance. Figure 5 shows a fibre optic cable.
Figure 5The glass in fibre optic cables includes the element germanium. Full text alternative to the content
Figure 6 shows a piece of germanium. Germanium is an element. It is shiny like copper, but brittle like sulfur.
Figure 6A piece of germanium.
C Describe one difference between germanium and sulfur.
Working scientifically Make a short video clip to tell other students about the properties and uses of one of these elements: copper, sulfur, or germanium.
Stretch zone
- Sort these properties into two lists: properties of copper and properties of sulfur. Properties: good conductor of electricity, brittle, shiny, does not conduct electricity, easy to shape into thin sheets, good conductor of thermal energy.
- Describe one use for each of the elements, copper and germanium. For each use, explain why the properties of the element make it suitable for this use.
Stretch zone
- Compare the properties of copper, sulfur, and germanium.