Molybdenum is element number 42, a metal with the symbol Mo. Its name comes from the Greek word for “lead.”
Atomic number 4295.95
MoMolybdenumモリブデン (moribuden)
Symbol
Mo
Atomic weight
95.95
Place in the table
Period 5 · Group 6
Atomic weight from the Chemical Society of Japan, “Table of Standard Atomic Weights with Four Significant Figures (2026)”.
Named for lead
Molybdenum’s name comes from the Greek word for lead. Later the name was also used for molybdenite, a mineral containing molybdenum. Molybdenum was discovered in 1778.
Molybdenum and the body
In the body, molybdenum is a trace mineral that helps several enzymes do their work.
In 1937, the Italian scientists Segrè and Perrier bombarded molybdenum with deuterons to make element 43, technetium: the first time people made an element.
Think about it
Q1Why might a mineral once have been named after lead?
Q2Why does hitting an element with other particles turn it into a different element?
Q3How many trace minerals the body needs can you find in the Room of the Elements?
There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.
Did you know? — Molybdenum is in the fifth row of Group 6, in the “chromium group” with chromium above it.