Gold is a precious metal which is well known for its shiny, yellow color. It got its name ‘gold’ from an Anglo-Saxon world ‘gelo’, which means yellow. On the other hand, in chemistry, it has been assigned with the symbol ‘Au’ which has been derived from the Latin word ‘aurum’, that denotes shining dawn. One of the interesting facts about gold is that it is considered as a valuable metal not just in modern times but was a symbol of a person’s wealth since the ancient times as well, and was even used as money centuries ago.

5 Interesting Facts About Gold for Kids

Kids are more interested to know some interesting facts about gold element. For this reason, in this section, we are highlighting thephysical properties of gold and chemical properties of gold. They are as follows:

• There are only two metals that have a non-white color. One of them is gold and the other one is copper.
• Gold is found on the surface of the earth in metallic nuggets or grains. The largest source of naturally occurring gold are the oceans. However, as the process of extracting gold from the ocean water is extremely high, it is not a commercially viable option for obtaining gold.
• In the periodic table, the chemical element gold is positioned in group 11 and is categorized as a transition metal.
• Gold is often referred to as a noble metal. This is because the pure form of gold does not get rusted, corroded or tarnished. It is not soluble in any acid.
• Elemental gold is very soft and has high malleability and ductility. You will be surprised to know that just one ounce of gold can be shaped into a thin semi permanent sheet of gold of one meter square. Similarly, an ounce of gold can also be drawn into a thread of 50 miles length and 5 microns of diameter.

Other Interesting Facts About Gold (Au)

In this section, we are sharing all the information related to the practical application of metallic gold. They are as follows:

• The largest consumption of gold in the world is in the making of gold jewelry. In fact, almost 50 percent of the gold is used for this purpose. Around 40 percent of gold is used for investment purposes, and the remaining 10 percent is for industrial use.
• The biggest producer of mined gold in the world is South Africa, and the largest amount of gold is used by India. In fact, as much as 25 percent of the world’s gold is purchased by Indians for jewelry purposes.
• The unit of measuring the purity of gold is known as Carat. One carat of gold is equivalent to 200 milligrams. The pure form of gold is of 24 carats.
• As we have already learned in the previous section that gold element is a very soft metal. For this reason, it is mixed with other metals like silver and copper, to make it hard.
• There are various other uses of gold other than jewelry making. Since it is a good conductor of electricity and is malleable and ductile, it is widely used in the manufacture of electronic products and equipments. It includes computers, cellular phones and telephones. It has excellent reflective powers because of which it is used in satellites and spacecrafts to provide protection from the harmful effects of solar radiation. It is used in some specific models of cars for the purpose of heat dissipation. It play a significant role in dentistry where it is used for dental filing. Research is on about other possible medical uses of gold in the treatment of several diseases.

Hope you have enjoyed reading about all these interesting facts about gold. Even if it is consumed, gold does not have any toxic effect on human health. However, some people may get skin allergies after coming in contact with gold. This is more commonly found in women than in men.

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