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The Conversation USA

The deadly, life-giving and transient elements that make up group 15 of the periodic table

  • Written by Julie Pollock, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Richmond
The red tip on these matches contains phosphorus, which ignites when in contact with oxygen.Andrew Rafalsky/Shutterstock.com

When you see the periodic table, what comes to mind? The pieces on a scrabble board? Maybe you think about your high school chemistry class. Maybe you think of the colorful table plastered on the wall of a lecture hall in...

Read more: The deadly, life-giving and transient elements that make up group 15 of the periodic table

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