The technical term for this is *transmutation*. It is possible, but very difficult, and it necessarily involves nuclear reactions: the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom determines which element it is, and changes to that are nuclear reactions by definition.
If you’re breaking a larger element down, you’re causing fission or radioactive decay; and if you’re building a larger element up, you’re causing fusion.
Nope. Zinc will remain zinc forever unless some form of nuclear reaction occurs.
That said, you can make one element *act* like another one by changing how many electrons are in its outermost shell (called the valence shell). This is called ionization and it’s one of the reasons why high frequency electromagnetic radiation is so dangerous.
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