What does magnesium mean?
Word: Magnesium
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Magnesium means a light, silvery-white metal that burns with a dazzling white flame and is found in many foods.
Word origin: Comes through modern Latin from Magnesia, a district of ancient Greece.
How do you spell magnesium?
Syllables: mag - ne - si - um
Tricky part: The ee sound in the second syllable comes from a single e, so students who go by the sound write magneesium or magnisium.
Watch out for: magneesium, magnisium, magnecium
Memory tip: Magnet gives you the start: keep its single e and do not add a second vowel beside it.
Magnesium in a sentence
Example 1: Spinach and almonds are good sources of magnesium, so Amma adds both to our lunch boxes.
Example 2: Aircraft makers like magnesium alloys because they are strong yet very light.
Example 3: In the lab, Dev weighed the magnesium ribbon before placing it in the crucible.
Fun Fact
The white chalk that gymnasts and rock climbers rub on their hands is magnesium carbonate, a compound of this metal.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
magnes___
a) uim
b) ium
c) iam
d) eum
Show answer
b) ium. Lithium and potassium share this ending, as do most metal names.
Jumble Tumble
Which option has letters that you can rearrange to form the name of a chemical element?
a) psotaimu
b) muitnat
c) nmgaseae
d) gisemanum
Show answer
d) gisemanum. These letters make magnesium; each of the others is one letter short of an element.
Word Champ
Read the statements and choose the correct option:
1. The chemical symbol of magnesium is Mn. 2. The green pigment chlorophyll has magnesium at its centre. 3. Magnesium is a gas at room temperature.
a) only 1 and 3 are true
b) all three are true
c) only 1 is true
d) only 2 is true
Show answer
d) only 2 is true. The symbol is Mg, since Mn stands for manganese, and this metal is a solid at room temperature.
Sound Check
In which word is 'gn' pronounced differently?
a) design
b) magnesium
c) foreign
d) gnome
Show answer
b) magnesium. Both letters are heard in this metal name; the g stays silent in the other three.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. During a demonstration, a teacher lights a strip of magnesium and tells pupils not to stare at it. Why?
a) the noise is very loud
b) the metal drips quite fast
c) the glare is harsh on the eyes
d) the smell is very strong
Show answer
c) the glare is harsh on the eyes
2. Which two elements, like magnesium, are metals?
a) oxygen and nitrogen
b) helium and neon
c) carbon and iodine
d) calcium and sodium
Show answer
d) calcium and sodium
