🔹 Basic Information

• Element Name: Aluminium (also spelled “aluminum” in American English)
• Discovered By: Hans Christian Ørsted
• Year of Discovery: 1825
• Category: Post-transition metal
• Group: 13 (Group IIIA – Boron group)
• State at Room Temperature: Solid (silvery-white, lightweight metal) 🪙

Aluminium is a lightweight, strong, and corrosion-resistant metal found widely in nature. It’s the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust and plays a huge role in construction, packaging, transport, and more.

🔸 Chemical Properties

• Chemical Symbol: Al
• Atomic Number: 13
• Atomic Mass: ~26.98 u
• Valency: 3
• Electronic Configuration: [Ne] 3s² 3p¹

Aluminium is a highly reactive metal, but it doesn’t corrode easily because it forms a thin, protective oxide layer when exposed to air. It often forms compounds like aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) and aluminium chloride (AlCl₃).

📘 Basic Things to Know

Aluminium is light, durable, and flexible, which is why it’s used in everything from airplanes to soda cans. ✈️🥫

Though it’s very reactive, pure aluminium is rarely found in nature. Instead, it’s extracted from bauxite ore through a process called electrolysis — which made it expensive in the past, but now it’s widely available and recyclable.

🤔 Interesting Facts

• Aluminium was once considered more valuable than gold due to how hard it was to extract. 🪙
• The top of the Washington Monument is made of aluminium — it was a rare status symbol in the 1800s!
• It’s 100% recyclable without losing its quality — over 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today. ♻️
• It’s non-toxic and non-magnetic, which makes it useful in many sensitive industries.
• Aluminium reflects light and heat, making it ideal for foil and insulation materials.

🔧 Common Uses

• Transportation: Used in cars, planes, bicycles, trains, and boats because it’s light and strong. 🚗🚴
• Packaging: Found in cans, foil, and food wrappers. 🥫
• Construction: Used in windows, doors, roofing, and bridges. 🏗️
• Electronics: Used in smartphones, laptops, and wires due to its excellent conductivity. 💻🔌
• Kitchenware: Found in pots, pans, and baking trays due to its heat resistance.

📚 Conclusion

Aluminium is a modern marvel — strong yet light, common yet valuable. From the foil in your kitchen to the wings of airplanes, aluminium plays a vital role in everyday life and modern engineering. For students, it’s a prime example of how chemistry meets industry to create solutions that are sustainable, practical, and powerful. ⚙️🌍