1. The Thrilling World of Arsenic Written by Julia Elfers

2. Why Should You Read My Paper?  Poison is a good subject to be well-informed about.  Knowledge on the elements is extremely useful in science class.  Arsenic has a long and intriguing history.  The author put too much time and research into this paper for the school board to disregard it, especially since her chances of graduating high school in the state of North Carolina depend upon this project.

3. What is Arsenic, Anyway? I am so glad you asked, fair reader! Arsenic is a metalloid element with an atomic number of 33 – meaning it has 33 protons and 33 electrons. Its atomic mass is 74.92, meaning that it has 41.92 neutrons. Arsenic is toxic to multicellular organisms, but back in the day – i.e. the Victorian era – people used it for all sorts of crazy things. I have written a paper about it! I’d love for you to read it.

4. What Does Arsenic Look Like? Arsenic comes in various allotropes (some with colors other than the usual gray) but the only one with any industrial use is the silvery gray shown above.

5. Is Arsenic Something Lots of People Know About? Definitely! Arsenic is a notorious poison to multicellular beings – that’s humans, guys – often featured in murder mysteries and the like. One of the most famous arsenic-centered fictions is the play Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring, about two old spinsters who have taken to poisoning lonely old men with a potent elderberry wine laced with arsenic, strychnine, and cyanide. (The existence of this play is often the extent of the general public’s knowledge about arsenic.)

6. Why Did You Choose to Write a Paper About Arsenic? I originally wanted to conduct my project on chemical treatments for mental disorders, schizophrenia in particular. However, the lack of research on this subject made writing such an essay exceedingly difficult, and so instead I chose to write my paper on one of the most infamously toxic chemicals of all time. In addition, covering a topic already on the periodic table provides a good deal more research than something as obscure as say, perphenazine.

7. Fun and Exciting Facts About Arsenic  Most birds are unaffected by arsenic.  It only takes about a tablespoon of arsenic to kill a human being.  Arsenic vapors may form explosive mixtures with the air.  When a person ingests arsenic, their breath may smell like almonds or sweaty socks.  Arsenic dissolves very well in hot drinks, but when said beverages cool, it floats to the top as a visible sediment.

8. More Fun and Exciting Facts About Arsenic  Arsenic curdles milk.  If a medical examiner were to look at the corpse of a person who had been poisoned with arsenic, they would know almost immediately – residue lingers permanently in fingernails, bones, and other parts of the body.  People have taken tiny amounts of arsenic – to the tune of two grams – and died, but one woman took 230 grams in a suicide attempt and complained only of indigestion for the next three days.

9. Arsenic Pictures This pretty one is an arsenic compound!

10. THANKS FOR WATCHING! Any questions you may have can be answered in my essay, which you will find in the column on the right side of my wiki, under the link “8.RP.1.2.” Thank you again for watching my presentation!