How to Know Which Elements Are Liquid at Room Temperature

Brush up on your chemistry and learn the liquids and gasses on the periodic table

Most of the elements on the periodic table are solids, but could you pick out which ones are different from the rest? While the only 2 elements that are liquids at standard room temperature are mercury (Hg) and bromine (Br), there are a few others that melt when it’s slightly warmer. There are even more elements that exist as gasses instead. If you want to find out more about all of the liquid or gaseous elements and their properties, just keep reading.

[Edit]Things You Should Know

• Mercury and bromine are the 2 elements that are liquid at room temperature, which is around .
• Francium, cesium, gallium, and rubidium melt into liquids just above room temperature.
• 11 elements are gaseous at room temp, including hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, chlorine, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Liquids at Room Temperature

1. Mercury (Hg, atomic number 80){endbold} This metallic silver metal has a melting point of just , so it’ll be a liquid at standard room temperature, which is around .^[1] Mercury is naturally-occurring, and it was once used inside thermometers, dental fillings, and batteries. However, inhaling the vapors mercury produces can cause lung damage and kidney problems, so it’s toxic if you’re exposed to high levels.^[2]
   
   • After cleaning up a mercury spill, contact a doctor if you start having tremors, headaches, difficulty breathing, or muscle weakness.^[3]
   • Seafood can contain trace amounts of mercury. Stick to shrimp, scallops, tilapia, and salmon since they have lower levels of mercury.^[4]
2. Bromine (Br, atomic number 35){endbold} Bromine melts into a deep-red, oily liquid with a bleach-like odor when it reaches .^[5] Bromine is usually used in flame retardants and agricultural pesticides, but exposure to the pure element or the fumes it produces is toxic.^[6]
   
   • Exposure to bromine could cause eye and throat irritation, and cause painful sores on your skin.

[Edit]Liquids Near Room Temperature

1. Francium (Fr, atomic number 87){endbold} While francium is a solid metal at room temperature, it melts into a liquid when it reaches . Francium is an alkali metal, so it’s highly reactive and doesn’t exist in its pure form often on Earth. Since it’s a rarer element, scientists primarily study francium and don't use it outside of a lab setting.^[7]
   
2. Cesium (Cs, atomic number 55){endbold} Cesium is a silvery white metal, and it melts into a liquid at .^[8] Cesium has the largest atoms of any element and the highest density compared to other alkali metals. When it’s exposed to air, cesium ignites into a reddish-violet flame.^[9]
   
   • Pure cesium also reacts violently with water.
3. Gallium (Ga, atomic number 31){endbold} Gallium is a soft gray metal that melts when it reaches . Just holding gallium in your hand will warm it up enough to turn it into a liquid. Gallium isn’t toxic, but handling it still may cause some skin irritation.^[10]
   
4. Rubidium (Rb, atomic number 37){endbold} Rubidium is a silvery-white metallic element that melts when it reaches . Rubidium is normally used in lab settings since it can spontaneously ignite when it’s exposed to air or water.^[11]
   

[Edit]Why are some elements liquid at room temperature?

1. The atomic bonds have less energy and separate at lower temperatures. Elements turn from a solid into a liquid when the atoms receive more energy and move around. If elements have strong bonds, they have a higher melting point. Since the energy in the bonds of liquid elements is really low, it doesn’t take as much heat for them to convert.^[12]
   

[Edit]How many elements are gaseous at room temperature?

1. There are 11 elements that are gaseous at room temperature. Besides hydrogen, all of the gasses are on the right side of the table, with the rightmost column being the “noble gasses,” which are completely non-reactive. The elements that are gaseous are:^[13]
   
   • Hydrogen (H, atomic number 1)
   • Helium (He, atomic number 2)
   • Nitrogen (N, atomic number 7)
   • Oxygen (O, atomic number 8)
   • Fluorine (F, atomic number 9)
   • Neon (Ne, atomic number 10)
   • Chlorine (Cl, atomic number 17)
   • Argon (Ar, atomic number 18)
   • Krypton (Kr, atomic number 36)
   • Xenon (Xe, atomic number 54)
   • Radon (Rn, atomic number 86)

[Edit]Tips

• Check your periodic table to see if it marks the elements that are liquids and gaseous in different colors. That way, you can easily tell them apart.
• The man-made elements copernicium and flerovium are predicted to be liquids, but there aren’t enough atoms that exist to know for sure.^[14]

[Edit]Warnings

• Many of the elements that are liquids are toxic or radioactive if you’re exposed to them. Avoid handling them unless you’re in a safe lab setting.^[15]

[Edit]References

1. ↑ https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Mercury#section=Melting-Point
2. ↑ https://www.epa.gov/mercury/basic-information-about-mercury
3. ↑ https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/mercury-exposure-and-poisoning#where-to-get-help
4. ↑ https://www.fda.gov/food/metals-and-your-food/mercury-levels-commercial-fish-and-shellfish-1990-2012
5. ↑ https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/bromine/basics/facts.asp
6. ↑ https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/35/bromine
7. ↑ https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Francium#section=Element-Period-Number
8. ↑ https://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/80th/cesium.html?
9. ↑ https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp157-c4.pdf
10. ↑ https://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/periodic/faq/liquid-elements.shtml
11. ↑ https://periodic.lanl.gov/37.shtml
12. ↑ https://engineering.mit.edu/engage/ask-an-engineer/why-is-mercury-liquid-at-room-temperature/
13. ↑ https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/Howard_University/General_Chemistry%3A_An_Atoms_First_Approach/Unit_4%3A__Thermochemistry/Chapter_10%3A_Gases/Chapter_10.1%3A_Gaseous_Elements_and_Compounds
14. ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Gibbs-free-energies-of-the-solid-green-liquid-blue-and-gas-phases-orange-of-Cn_fig2_336389017
15. ↑ https://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/periodic/faq/liquid-elements.shtml

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