Periodic Table / Non-metals

Non-metals

Six elements so essential to life that biologists use them as a shortcut: CHNOPS. Tap one to see its real form — three are invisible gases, three are solids you could hold in your hand.

Carbon · Hydrogen · Nitrogen · Oxygen · Phosphorus · Sulfur — the building blocks of every living thing

H Hydrogen Colourless gas

Atomic number

Atomic mass

1.0

The lightest and most abundant element in the universe — it makes up most of the Sun and every other star. It burns with a flame so pale blue it's almost invisible.

Why CHNOPS? Together, these six elements make up almost all the mass of every living thing on Earth. Carbon and hydrogen form the backbone of every biological molecule; nitrogen and phosphorus build DNA and proteins; oxygen keeps it all running. Learn this order and you've learned the chemistry of life itself.

1. What does the biology shortcut "CHNOPS" stand for?

2. Which gas makes up about 78% of the air we breathe?

3. Which element glows faintly green in the dark in one of its forms?

4. Which element can appear as either dark graphite or clear diamond, depending on how its atoms are arranged?

5. Which bright yellow non-metal is behind the "rotten egg" smell in many of its compounds?

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