The Properties of Gold

Gold is a very rare substance making up only five ten-millionths of the Earth's outer layer. (Imagine 10 million Smarties in one place and only 5 of them were made of gold!). Its rarity and its physical properties have made it one of the most prized of Earth's natural resources.

Gold, like iron, copper, lead, tin etc. is a metal. Metals are good conductors of heat and electricity and are almost all solid at room temperature (with the exception of mercury). They are malleable and ductile.

Gold is heavy - it weighs over nineteen times more than water, and is almost twice as heavy as lead. If you had enough Gold to fill a one litre milk carton, it would weigh 19.3 kilograms, the same volume of milk weighs only one kilogram.

Gold is quite soft. It is slightly harder than a fingernail but not as hard as a coin or glass.

Gold, like most metals, can be hammered into thin sheets (malleable) or drawn out into thin wires (ductile). This has made gold sought after for a wide range of applications, like jewellery and in electronics. "Gold leaf" for example, is gold that has been beaten into a sheet less than one tenth of a millimetre thick. It is then used for lettering on honour rolls in schools, or for putting gold onto picture frames and ornaments
The Properties of Gold
Chemical Symbol: Au
Mineral: usually found as a native metal
Relative density: 19.3
Hardness: 2.5-3 on Mohs scale
Malleability: High
Ductility: High
Melting point: 1060°C
Boiling point: 2660°C
Atomic Mass: 196.97

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