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Livermorium Facts & Worksheets

Livermorium (Lv, atomic number 116) is a synthetic, highly radioactive element produced in laboratories and absent in nature.

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Livermorium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Lv and atomic number 116. It is a highly radioactive element synthesized in a laboratory and never observed in nature.

See the fact file below for more information about Livermorium, or you can download our 30-page worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Facts

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF LIVERMORIUM

  • Synthesis attempts were unsuccessful. Ken Hulet and his team at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) conducted the initial search for element 116 in 1977, utilizing a reaction between 248Cm and 48Ca. They couldn’t find any livermorium atoms. 
  • In 1978, Yuri Oganessian and his team at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) attempted the reaction but failed. In 1995, an international team led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany, tried to synthesize element 116 using a radiative capture reaction between a lead-208 target and selenium-82 projectiles. No element 116 atoms were detected.
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  • Unconfirmed discovery claims. In 1998, Polish physicist Robert Smolańczuk released calculations on the fusing of atomic nuclei, leading to the production of superheavy atoms like elements 118 and 116. 
  • Furthermore, his calculations indicated that it could be possible to create these two elements by fusing lead and krypton under precisely regulated conditions.
  • Discovery. Livermorium was initially created on July 19, 2000, when scientists at Dubna (JINR) attacked a curium-248 target with accelerated calcium-48 ions. A single atom was found decaying to a flerovium isotope via alpha emission with a decay energy of 10.54 MeV. 
  • In the same experiment, they discovered a decay chain corresponding to the first known decay of flerovium in December 1998, which was attributed to 289Fl. 
  • There has never been another flerovium isotope with the same properties as the one discovered, even in repeats of the same reaction. Later, it was found that 289Fl has distinct decay properties and that the first detected flerovium atom could have been its nuclear isomer, 289mFl.
  • Naming. Using Mendeleev’s nomenclature for nameless and undiscovered elements, livermorium is also known as eka-polonium. In 1979, IUPAC advised that the placeholder systematic element name ununhexium (Uuh) be used until the discovery of the element had been verified and a name was determined.
  • According to IUPAC recommendations, a new element discoverer(s) has the right to choose a name. On June 1, 2011, the Joint Working Party (JWP) of IUPAC recognized the discovery of livermorium and flerovium.

SYNTHESIS OF SUPERHEAVY NUCLEI

  • A superheavy atomic nucleus is formed after a nuclear reaction that combines two other nuclei of unequal size into one; essentially, the more unequal the two nuclei in mass, the more likely the two will react. 
  • The material composed of heavier nuclei is formed into a target, which is subsequently bombarded by a beam of lighter nuclei. Two nuclei can only fuse into one if they get close enough; otherwise, nuclei (all positively charged) reject each other due to electrostatic repulsion.

PREDICTED PROPERTIES

  • Aside from nuclear properties, no properties of livermorium or its compounds have been examined; this is due to its limited and expensive synthesis and rapid disintegration. The properties of livermorium remain unclear, with only guesses provided.
  • Nuclear stability and isotopes. Livermorium is thought to be located near a point of stability centered on copernicium (element 112) and flerovium (element 114). Because of the projected high fission barriers, any nucleus within this island of stability decays exclusively via alpha decay, with possibly some electron capture and beta decay. 
  • While the known isotopes of livermorium do not contain enough neutrons to be within the island of stability, they can be observed approaching it, as heavier isotopes have longer half-lives.
  • The creation of new livermorium isotopes, particularly those with a few neutrons more or less than the known ones—286Lv, 287Lv, 294Lv, and 295Lv – could provide important information about the characteristics of superheavy nuclei. This is conceivable because curium has many moderately long-lived isotopes that can be employed as targets.
  • Physical and atomic. Livermorium belongs to group 16 of the periodic table, which comprises chalcogens. It ranks behind oxygen, sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium. Every prior chalcogen has six electrons in its valence shell, resulting in the valence electron configuration ns2np4. 
  • With livermorium atoms, it reduces the 7s and 7p electron energy levels (stabilizing the associated electrons); however, two of the 7p electron energy levels are more stable than the other four. The stability of 7s electrons is known as the inert pair effect, and the process of “tearing” the 7p subshell into more and less stabilized regions is known as subshell splitting. 
  • Inert pair effects in livermorium should be more potent than in polonium, so the +2 oxidation state turns into a more stable state than the +4 state, which would be stabilized only by the most electronegative ligands; this is observed in the expected ionization energies of livermorium.
  • Additionally, the melting and boiling points of livermorium are expected to follow the trends down the chalcogens; consequently, livermorium should melt at a greater temperature than polonium while boiling at a lower temperature.
  • Chemical. Livermorium is expected to be the fourth member of the 7p series of chemical elements and the heaviest member of group 16 in the periodic table after polonium. While it is the least theoretically researched of the 7p elements, its chemistry is thought to be very similar to that of polonium. All chalcogens have a +6 group oxidation state, except oxygen, which cannot expand its octet and is one of the most potent oxidizing agents among the chemical elements. The +4 state is known for sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium, with stability shifting from reducing for sulfur(IV) and selenium(IV) to the most stable state for tellurium(IV) to oxidizing in polonium(IV). As the group descends, the impact of relativistic effects, particularly the inert pair effect, increases, implying that the higher oxidation states’ stability decreases.
  • Lighter chalcogens, such as oxide, sulfide, selenide, telluride, and polonide, can form a −2 state. Livermorium chemistry is primarily cationic, so the −2 state should be unstable. However, livermorium’s larger subshell and spinor energy splittings make Lv²⁻ slightly less unstable than expected.

EXPERIMENTATION OF LIVERMORIUM

  • The chemical properties of livermorium are yet to be unambiguously determined. In 2011, experiments were carried out to produce nihonium, flerovium, and moscovium isotopes in the interactions between calcium-48 projectiles and targets containing americium-243 and plutonium-244.
  • The targets included lead and bismuth impurities; therefore, some bismuth and polonium isotopes were produced during nucleon transfer.  
  • The produced nuclides bismuth-213 and polonium-212m were transported as the hydrides 213BiH3 and 212mPoH2 at 850 °C through a quartz wool filter unit held with tantalum, demonstrating that these hydrides were surprisingly thermally stable, even though their heavier congeners McH3 and LvH2 would be expected to be less thermally stable based on simple extrapolation of periodic trends from the p-block. 
  • Furthermore, moscovium and livermorium are expected to be volatile enough as pure elements to be chemically investigated quickly, a property shared by livermorium and its lighter congener polonium, though the short half-lives of all currently known livermorium isotopes mean that the element remains inaccessible to experimental chemistry.

Livermorium Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Livermorium across 30 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Livermorium. Aside from nuclear properties, no properties of livermorium or its compounds have been examined; this is due to its limited and expensive synthesis and rapid disintegration. The properties of livermorium remain unclear, with only guesses provided.

Livermorium Worksheets
Livermorium Worksheets
Livermorium Worksheets

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Livermorium Facts
  2. Livermorium Basics
  3. 5 Things to Know
  4. Members of Group 16
  5. Looking Back…
  6. In Other Words
  7. About 116 Element
  8. Lv Properties
  9. Updating the Profile
  10. Tracing the Risk
  11. The Name of 116

Frequently Asked Questions

What is livermorium?

Livermorium (Lv) is a synthetic chemical element with atomic number 116. It belongs to group 16 of the periodic table, known as the chalcogens, and is classified as a superheavy element.

How is livermorium synthesized?

Livermorium is created in particle accelerators by bombarding curium-248 with calcium-48 ions. This fusion reaction produces livermorium atoms, which exist only for milliseconds before decaying.

Why is livermorium unstable?

Its instability stems from its superheavy nucleus, which undergoes rapid radioactive decay due to intense nuclear forces. The most stable isotope, Lv-293, has a half-life of about 60 milliseconds.

What are the chemical properties of livermorium?

Livermorium’s chemical properties are mostly theoretical. As a chalcogen, it may behave similarly to tellurium or polonium, but relativistic effects due to its massive nucleus alter its electron orbitals significantly.

What are the uses of livermorium?

Livermorium has no practical applications due to its extreme instability and short lifespan. Its primary use is in scientific research, helping scientists explore the behavior of superheavy elements and test nuclear theories.

References

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Link will appear as Livermorium Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 1, 2025

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