Fluorine for Kids
FLOR-een · Halogen
I wonder… How does toothpaste keep your teeth strong?
Fluorine is the wildest, most reactive element of all. On its own it's dangerous, but tamed, it helps keep your teeth strong.
Quick facts
- Atomic number
- 9
- Symbol
- F
- Atomic mass
- 18.998
- Type
- Halogen
- Discovered
- 1886
- Discovered by
- Henri Moissan
- Name means
- From fluere, the Latin word for “to flow”
- At room temperature
- Gas
How fluorine was discovered
Part 1 of 3
The element nobody could catch
For more than 70 years, scientists knew a new element was hiding in a mineral called fluorite. But every time they tried to free it, it attacked everything: glass, metal, and even the scientists!
Part 2 of 3
Brave and careful
Several chemists were badly hurt trying. Finally, a French chemist named Henri Moissan made a clever plan. He used electricity, kept everything ice-cold, and built his equipment from special metals that fluorine couldn't eat through.
Part 3 of 3
Caught at last!
In 1886, out came a pale yellow gas: fluorine! In 1906, Moissan won the Nobel Prize, one of the biggest awards in science.
What is fluorine used for?
Toothpaste
Toothpaste has fluoride, which is made from fluorine. It helps make your teeth harder and fights cavities.
Nonstick pans
Pans coated with a special fluorine plastic let pancakes slide right off.
Rain jackets
Some waterproof jackets use fluorine coatings that make raindrops bead up and roll away.
Fun facts about fluorine
How wild is it?
Fluorine reacts with almost every other element. Some things even burst into flames when they touch it!
Can rocks glow?
The mineral fluorite can glow under a black light. That's where the word “fluorescent” comes from!
Why that name?
Fluorite helped melted metals flow, so its name comes from the Latin word for “to flow.”
Inside a fluorine atom
Fluorine has 7 electrons on its outside track. It wants just 1 more so badly that it grabs electrons from almost anything!
Quiz yourself
1. What do you use every morning that contains fluorine?
- Shampoo
- Toothpaste
- Cereal
Show the answer
Toothpaste. Fluoride in toothpaste comes from fluorine and helps keep your teeth strong.
2. Why was fluorine so hard to discover?
- It was invisible and silent
- It attacked almost everything it touched
- It only lived on the Moon
Show the answer
It attacked almost everything it touched. Fluorine reacts with almost everything, even glass and metal, so it was very hard to catch.
Try it at home (with a grown-up): The eggshell tooth test
Grown-up needed! Only do this with a grown-up right next to you, the whole time.
You'll need
- A grown-up helper, right next to you the whole time
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, cooled (eggshells are a lot like teeth)
- Fluoride toothpaste
- 2 cups of white vinegar
- 2 clear cups
What to do
- Grown-up’s job Hard-boil 2 eggs and let them cool all the way.
- Cover one egg all over with a thick layer of toothpaste. Leave the other egg plain. Wait 1 day.
- Gently rinse the toothpaste off.
- Grown-up’s job Put each egg in its own cup and pour in vinegar to cover it. Vinegar is an acid, a bit like the acids that cause cavities.
- Watch both eggs. Which one gets more bubbles?
- The plain egg usually fizzes more because the acid eats its shell. The fluoride helped protect the other one, just like it protects your teeth!
Safety rules
- A grown-up does the boiling. Hot water and stoves can burn.
- Don't eat the eggs afterward, and don't swallow toothpaste.
- Keep vinegar away from your eyes. If some gets in, rinse with plenty of water.
- Wash your hands after touching the eggs, and pour the vinegar down the sink when you're done.
Draw it
Draw a superhero tooth with a fluoride shield fighting off cavity germs.
Riddle
“I'm the wildest element of all, but I help keep your teeth strong. What am I?”
Explore fluorine with animations, read-aloud and a drawing pad
Open it on Atom a Day →