What does potassium mean?
Word: Potassium
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Potassium means a soft, silver-white metal; it is a chemical element that plants and the human body need.
Word origin: Named after potash by the chemist Humphry Davy, who first isolated the metal in 1807.
How do you spell potassium?
Syllables: po - tas - si - um
Tricky part: The double s trips students up. The sound is heard only once, so many write the word with a single s.
Watch out for: potasium, potassuim
Memory tip: Picture someone saying pass the bananas, which are rich in this metal: the double s of pass goes straight into potassium.
Potassium in a sentence
Example 1: Bananas, coconut water and spinach all contain potassium.
Example 2: Farmers often add potassium to the soil to help their crops.
Example 3: In the chemistry video, a tiny piece of potassium fizzed and darted across the water.
Fun Fact
The chemical symbol for potassium is K, taken from kalium, a Latin name for the element.
Practise the CREST Way
Jumble Tumble
Which option has letters that you can rearrange to form the name of a chemical element?
a) dnastsoen
b) musiptaos
c) nrpoeclia
d) rdaobdcar
Show answer
b) musiptaos. One set makes an element; the others make porcelain, sandstone and cardboard, none of which is an element.
Spell Probe
Fill the blanks with 'o' and then 'a'. Which option gives the meaning of that word?
1. p_s_tion 2. p_t_ssium 3. p_m_granate 4. p_l_te
a) the place where something or someone is
b) an element your muscles and nerves rely on
c) a round red fruit packed with juicy seeds
d) showing good manners towards other people
Show answer
b) an element your muscles and nerves rely on. Polite and position take o and i, and pomegranate takes o and e, so only the element fits.
Word Champ
Read the statements and choose the correct option:
1. Compounds of potassium are found in soil and in many foods. 2. A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction. 3. Table salt is a compound of chlorine and sodiam.
a) all three are correct
b) only 2 and 3 are correct
c) only 1 and 3 are correct
d) only 1 and 2 are correct
Show answer
d) only 1 and 2 are correct. The metal in table salt is spelt sodium, so the statement about salt fails.
Word Tally
Give 3 marks for each misspelt word. How many marks in all?
potassium, magnesuim, flourine, nitrogin, calcium
a) 3
b) 9
c) 6
d) 12
Show answer
b) 9. Magnesium, fluorine and nitrogen are all wrongly spelt here, which gives three lots of 3.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What might a dietitian suggest for someone who needs more potassium?
a) a cube of ice from the tray
b) a pinch of ground black pepper
c) a baked potato with its skin
d) a spoonful of white sugar
Show answer
c) a baked potato with its skin
2. On the periodic table, potassium sits in the same group as ___.
a) oxygen
b) carbon
c) neon
d) lithium
Show answer
d) lithium
