Scandium << skan dee uhm >> a chemical element, is a soft silvery-white metal. Its chemical symbol is Sc. Lars Nilson of Sweden discovered it in 1879 in the minerals gadolinite and euxenite. He named the element scandium after Scandinavia. Scandium is found in tiny amounts in over 800 minerals but is costly to extract and has no significant use.
Scandium has an atomic number (number of protons in its nucleus) of 21. Its relative atomic mass is 44.955910. An element’s relative atomic mass equals its mass (amount of matter) divided by 1/12 of the mass of carbon 12, the most abundant form of carbon. Scandium melts at 1541° C and boils at 2831° C. It has a density of 2.989 grams per cubic centimeter at 20° C.
Chemists classify scandium as a transition metal . For information on the position of scandium on the periodic table, see the article Periodic table .
