Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos

potassium: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Facts

Also Known As kalium • K

Photos and Videos

A periodic table element box for potassium shows atomic number 19, symbol K, atomic weight 39.0983, electron configuration [Ar]4s1, and name potassium. Icons indicate it is an alkali metal, solid at room temperature, body-centered cubic crystal structure, and has strongly basic higher-valence oxides. A key explains the symbols for alkali metals, solid state, body-centered cubic structure, and strong basicity.
Aerial view of the potash mine at Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, showing industrial buildings, storage facilities, and plumes of steam or smoke surrounded by snowy fields.
potassium
Line graph showing the first ionization energies of the elements as a function of atomic number, with peaks at noble gases like helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon, and labeled elements at key points.
Learn about the underground beds of potash deposits in Germany
Observe the drilling and blasting work in a potash mine in Germany
See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Sir Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy
English chemist
Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac, engraving by Ambroise Tardieu.
Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac
French scientist

Related Quizzes

Periodic Table of the elements concept image (chemistry)
Facts You Should Know: The Periodic Table Quiz
Illustration of molecules. (molecular, chemistry, science)
So Much Chemistry, So Little Time Quiz
Concept artwork on the periodic table of elements.
118 Names and Symbols of the Periodic Table Quiz