sodium

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Soft, waxlike, silver-white, metallic element, atomic number 11, relative atomic mass 22.989. Its chemical symbol comes from the Latin natrium. It is one of the alkali metals (in Group 1 of the periodic table) and has a very low density, being light enough to float on water. It is the sixth-most abundant element (the fourth-most abundant metal) in the Earth's crust. Sodium is highly reactive, oxidizing rapidly when exposed to air and reacting violently with water. It is one of the most reactive metals in the reactivity series of metals. Its most familiar compound is sodium chloride (common salt), which occurs naturally in the oceans and in salt deposits left by dried-up ancient seas.

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