If you had to swallow one gram of an element on the periodic table, what is the chance of you dying?

Well, let’s start at the top of the periodic table and work our way down. We’ll assume that solids will be in the form of a fine powder.

1 gram of hydrogen - the density of hydrogen is .08988 g/L, so you’ll have to swallow (not inhale) 11 liters of gas. This will take you some time, and will need to be spread out over a good deal of time to avoid damaging your GI tract. You’re going to feel very bloated for a while, and you’ll be belching and farting like a champion. Otherwise, no problem.

1 gram of helium - the density of helium is .179 g/L, so you’ll need to swallow 5.6 liters. Same issues as hydrogen, just not as bad. Oh, and immediately after belching you may sound like Donald Duck if you inhale the helium.

1 gram of lithium - the lithium is very reactive, and will cause severe chemical burns going down and in your stomach, so you’ll have to heal up before you can do the next element. Lithium will presumably react primarily with water to produce lithium hydroxide, and then with hydrochloric acid in the stomach to produce about 6 grams of lithium chloride. Lethal dose for LiCl has been reported to be about 8 grams, so you may or may not survive to continue.

1 gram of beryllium - no particular issue.

EDIT - I’m not sure of this on further reflection. If the metal forms a compound which is soluble in water, then you’re in big trouble, since beryllium can replace magnesium in enzymes (you don’t want that) and can target the nuclei of cells (you don’t want that, either) and can be extremely toxic. However, my organic chemistry is far too rusty for me to guess what the products of digestion would be.

END EDIT

1 gram of boron - no problem.

1 gram of carbon - no problem.

1 gram of nitrogen - density is 1.25 g/L, so you’ll need to swallow 0.8 liters of gas. After the hydrogen and helium, this should be a piece of cake.

1 gram of oxygen - like nitrogen, but about 0.7 liters.

1 gram of fluorine - Oh boy, now you’re in for it. You’ll need to swallow about 0.6 liters of gas, and you’ll get fluorine burns (as in, your throat will literally catch fire) going down, but then the trouble begins. Your one gram of fluorine will mostly react with water to form hydrofluoric acid, and produce a bit over one gram of HF. This will react with the calcium in your body and the results will be unpleasant. Here is a link Lethal intoxication with hydrofluoric acid to a case of a woman who swallowed 30 mL of HF. With a density of 1.69 g/ml, you’ll probably recover from a dose 1/50 of this, but I suspect you’ll have lost your enthusiasm for the project. Which is just as well. Actually, there doesn’t seem to be much information about the effects of swallowing fluorine - it’s just so bizarre that it doesn’t happen. The medical community will follow your progress avidly.

1 gram of neon - just like nitrogen or oxygen, but a bit more volume.

1 gram of sodium - you thought the fluorine was bad? The moisture in your throat will cause the sodium to evolve hydrogen and hot enough to ignite it. Plus, the byproduct of the reaction is sodium hydroxide (lye) which won’t do you much good either. The rest of your experiment will require the elements to be introduced via a direct tube to your stomach, since your esophagus will be badly damaged. If it wasn’t by the fluorine. Or the lithium. Which seems unlikely.

1 gram of magnesium, aluminum, silicon - no immediate effects.

1 gram of phosphorus - Elemental phosphorus is a deadly poison (despite the fact that we are typically 1% phosphorus), with lethal doses of 50 - 60 mg being reported. A summary web page PHOSPHORUS, ELEMENTAL includes the following:

“The human lethal oral dose of phosphorus (white) is about 1 mg/kg body weight”.

You’ll start vomiting at about the 12-hour mark, and you may die within 12 hours. Or it may take 2 or 3 days for your liver and kidneys to go TU, and the experiment will end here.

Just as well. Swallowing a gram of liquid bromine probably won’t kill you, but it won’t be whole lot of fun and the immediate tissue damage to your stomach will be severe.

Chlorine will react to form hydrochloric acid, but only about a gram, and your stomach already contains hydrochloric acid, so that ought to mitigate effects. Won’t help your throat, though.

A gram of radium won’t kill you immediately, but it will kill you.

A gram of mercury, oddly enough, will simply go through you like grease through a goose. It’s a tiny globule, and unless it gets stuck somewhere in a crevice will pass quickly.

Potassium, rubidium and cesium will have much the same effect as sodium although their higher atomic numbers mean that they will have less chemical effect.