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Originally dubbed eka-boron, this element's existence was predicted by Mendeleev years before it was discovered

Today's element is scandium, which many of you may not be familiar with. (The only reason I know anything at all about it is because I was a member of a bicycle racing club, and scandium/aluminium alloy bicycle frames and components always generated a lot of discussion. But I've not heard anything about it before or since, except for brief mentions in chemistry classes.)

Scandium is arguably the first of the transition metals. (Transition metals refers to the structure of an element's electron shell, a feature that gives all transition metals a number several shared properties, including the ability to conduct electricity. However, according to some definitions for the transition metals, scandium might instead be classified as a rare earth element.) Its atomic number is 21 and its atomic symbol is Sc. Its name is from the Latin, Scandia, for "Scandinavia" -- probably because it was discovered in several minerals from Scandinavia.

Scandium is a soft metal with a silvery appearance that is unevenly distributed in the earth's crust. It usually is found as a trace element in minerals, although thortveitite deposits in Scandinavia can contain up to 45% scandium.

In this video, our favourite crazy-haired professor tells us more about Mendeleev, the periodic table and scandium:

You might be interested to read a little about Mendeleev's prediction, which he made based on his periodic table of elements that he designed to bring order to our understanding of the elements and their chemical properties.

You've already met these elements:

Calcium: Ca, atomic number 20
Potassium: K, atomic number 19
Argon: Ar, atomic number 18
Chlorine: Cl, atomic number 17
Sulfur: S, atomic number 16
Phosphorus: P, atomic number 15
Silicon: Si, atomic number 14
Aluminium: Al, atomic number 13
Magnesium: Mg, atomic number 12
Sodium: Na, atomic number 11
Neon: Ne, atomic number 10
Fluorine: F, atomic number 9
Oxygen: O, atomic number 8
Nitrogen: N, atomic number 7
Carbon: C, atomic number 6
Boron: B, atomic number 5
Beryllium: Be, atomic number 4
Lithium: Li, atomic number 3
Helium: He, atomic number 2
Hydrogen: H, atomic number 1



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