Atomic number 16, atomic weight 32.064. Silicon (Si): Silicon is the second most abundant element in the earth's crust and can be found in rocks, sand and clay. It acts as a deoxidizer in steel ...

The element germanium was discovered in 1886. Its properties were similar to the predicted ones of Mendeleev’s ‘eka-silicon’. The periodic table is a good example of how scientific ideas ...

Scientists have found that our bodies need 28 different elements to function properly. These are almost one-quarter of the periodic table and are mainly found in the first four periods.