Chem 一問!!!急急!!快D答唔該!!!

Mercury is mostly obtained by reduction from the mineral cinnabar.
Mercury occurs in deposits throughout the world and it is harmless in an insoluble form, such as mercuric sulfide, but it is poisonous in soluble forms such as mercuric chloride or methylmercury.
Mercury was known to the ancient Chinese and Indians,[2] and was found in Egyptian tombs that date from 1500 BC.[3] In China, India, and Tibet, mercury use was thought to prolong life, heal fractures, and maintain generally good health. China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di — said to have been buried in a tomb that contained rivers of flowing mercury, representative of the rivers of China — was driven insane and killed by mercury pills (failing liver, poison, brain death) intended to give him eternal life.[4] The ancient Greeks used mercury in ointments; the ancient Egyptians and the Romans used it in cosmetics. By 500 BC mercury was used to make amalgams with other metals. The Indian word for alchemy is Rasavātam which means "the way of mercury".
Alchemists often thought of mercury as the First Matter from which all metals were formed. They believed that different metals could be produced by varying the quality and quantity of sulfur contained within the mercury. The purest of these was gold, and mercury was required for the transmutation of base (or impure) metals into gold as was the goal of many alchemists.
Hg is the modern chemical symbol for mercury.It comes from hydrargyrum, a Latinized form of the Greek word `Υδραργυρος (hydrargyros), which is a compound word meaning "water" and "silver" — since it is liquid, like water, and yet has a silvery metallic sheen. The element was named after the Roman god Mercury, known for speed and mobility. It is associated with the planet Mercury. The astrological symbol for the planet is also one of the alchemical symbols for the metal. Mercury is the only metal for which the alchemical planetary name became the common name.

The most common method to extract Mercury is by strongly heating its ore, Mercury(II) Oxide.

The chemical formula is as follows:
mercury(II) oxide (s) --> mercury (l) + Oxygen (g)

To test whether oxygen is really produced, you can test it with a glowing splint. Oxygen can relight a glowing splint.

2008-05-11 14:09:51 補充：
sorry, there is some technical problems:

The chemical formula is as follows:
mercury(II) oxide (s) -- > mercury (l) + Oxygen (g)

Mercury is extracted by strong heating of its ore.