Hydrogen for Kids
HY-druh-jen · Nonmetal
I wonder… What makes the Sun shine?
Hydrogen is the lightest and simplest element of all. It's an invisible gas, and it's the fuel that makes the Sun shine.
Quick facts
- Atomic number
- 1
- Symbol
- H
- Atomic mass
- 1.008
- Type
- Nonmetal
- Discovered
- 1766
- Discovered by
- Henry Cavendish
- Name means
- “water maker”
- At room temperature
- Gas
How hydrogen was discovered
Part 1 of 3
The shy scientist
In 1766, a very shy English scientist named Henry Cavendish loved doing experiments alone in his lab. One day he dropped bits of metal into a strong liquid called acid. Tiny bubbles fizzed up!
Part 2 of 3
Pop goes the gas
Cavendish caught the bubbles in a bottle. When he held a flame near the gas, it went POP and burned! He called it “inflammable air,” which means air that can catch fire.
Part 3 of 3
A name is born
Years later, in 1781, Cavendish showed that when this gas burns, it makes water. A French scientist named Antoine Lavoisier heard about it and named the gas hydrogen. That means “water maker”!
What is hydrogen used for?
Making the Sun shine
Deep inside the Sun, hydrogen gets squeezed so hard that it turns into helium. That makes the light and heat we feel every day.
Rocket fuel
Super-cold liquid hydrogen helped blast space shuttles into space.
Cars that make water
Some cars run on hydrogen. The only thing that comes out of their tailpipe is water!
Fun facts about hydrogen
How common is it?
Hydrogen is the most common element in the whole universe. About three out of every four pounds of ordinary stuff in space is hydrogen!
Where is it hiding?
There's hydrogen in every drop of water. Scientists write water as H2O, and the H stands for hydrogen.
How light is it?
Hydrogen is the lightest element. It can lift a balloon a little better than helium, but it catches fire very easily. That's why party balloons use helium instead!
Inside a hydrogen atom
Most hydrogen atoms have no neutrons at all. It's the only element like that!
Quiz yourself
1. What does the name “hydrogen” mean?
- Sun maker
- Water maker
- Bubble maker
Show the answer
Water maker. Lavoisier saw that burning hydrogen makes water, so he named it “water maker.”
2. What is the most common element in the whole universe?
- Oxygen
- Gold
- Hydrogen
Show the answer
Hydrogen. About three out of every four pounds of ordinary stuff in space is hydrogen.
Try it at home (with a grown-up): Make hydrogen bubbles
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 pencils sharpened on both ends
- A 9-volt battery
- A clear plastic cup of warm tap water
- 1 spoonful of baking soda (never salt)
What to do
- Stir the baking soda into the water until it disappears.
- Grown-up’s job Hold the battery and press one pencil tip onto each bump on top. Keep the two pencils apart.
- Grown-up’s job Dip the other pencil tips into the water. Don't let them touch each other.
- Look closely! Tiny bubbles grow on both pencil tips.
- The pencil on the minus (−) side makes about twice as many bubbles. Those are hydrogen! The other pencil makes oxygen.
- Grown-up’s job After about 1 minute, take the pencils off the battery and put tape over the battery's bumps.
Safety rules
- A grown-up holds the battery the whole time.
- Use baking soda only. Never use salt, because salt makes chlorine, a harmful gas.
- Run it for about 1 minute at a time. If the battery feels warm, stop.
- Never let metal touch both bumps on top of a 9-volt battery. It can get hot enough to start a fire.
- Never put a battery in your mouth. Don't drink the water. Pour it down the sink and wash your hands.
- The gas is tiny, but keep it away from flames.
Draw it
Draw the Sun turning hydrogen into light and heat.
Riddle
“I'm the lightest element of all, and I help the Sun shine. What am I?”
Explore hydrogen with animations, read-aloud and a drawing pad
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