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38
Room of the Elements · No. 38

Strontium (Sr): what kind of element is it?

日本語

In short

Strontium is element number 38, a metal with the symbol Sr. Its name comes from Strontian, a mine in Scotland.
Atomic number 3887.62
SrStrontium (sutoronchiumu)
Symbol
Sr
Atomic weight
87.62
Place in the table
Period 5 · Group 2

Atomic weight from the Chemical Society of Japan, “Table of Standard Atomic Weights with Four Significant Figures (2026)”.

Named for a mine

Strontium was found in a mineral from the Strontian mine (strontianite), which gave it its name. It was discovered in 1808, the same year as magnesium, calcium and barium.

Colored fireworks

Fireworks in the Edo period were made mainly from saltpeter, ash and sulfur. Around 1887, in the Meiji period, the fireworks maker Kagiya Yahei, the eleventh of that name, succeeded in making colored “Western fire” fireworks using strontium carbonate and barium sulfide.

Strontium is in the fifth row of Group 2, directly below calcium and directly above barium.

Think about it

There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.

Did you know? — In 1808, four Group 2 elements, strontium, magnesium, calcium and barium, were discovered, along with boron.
Next steps
About this page
Symbol and atomic weight: Chemical Society of Japan, “Table of Standard Atomic Weights (2026)” and “Table of Atomic Weights with Four Significant Figures (2026)”. Origin of the symbol and year of discovery: Sugiyama, “The Origins of Element Symbols,” Kagaku to Kyōiku 43(12), 1995 (Chemical Society of Japan). Edo-period fireworks and Kagiya Yahei’s “Western fire”: National Diet Library, 132nd exhibition “Scenes of Fireworks” (2004). All sources are in Japanese.
Written by CCN CO., LTD.
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