Mixed Elements Trivia

1. Which radioactive metal with the atomic number of 84, was discovered by Marie Curie and named for her homeland?

From Quiz Elements Named for Places

Answer: Polonium

Marie and Pierre Curie were working with uranium ore when they discovered Polonium. They gave their discovery a tentative name of radium F, but later named it for Marie's homeland of Poland. Whilst Polonium is more radioactive than radium, it has a half-life of just over 138 days and decays to a stable isotope. It is a rare element partly because of its rapid decay rate but also because of the very small amount that is present, about 0.1mg per metric ton of uranium ore. It is intensely radioactive and highly toxic, so requires specialized equipment for handling. Phoenix Rising Red crew member leith90 donned a hazmat suit and chemical-resistant gloves to mine this question for the quiz.

From Quiz Discoveries of Elements

Answer: Urine

The process Brand used to collect phosphorus involved heating, evaporating, and filtering urine. Since large numbers of phosphates are dissolved in normal metabolic processes, the element is abundant in urine. Brand believed he had discovered the Philosopher's Stone that could turn metals into gold, and he tried to keep the discovery of phosphorus a secret. Since the substance appeared to glow in the dark, the word phosphorus, derived from Greek terms meaning 'light carrier', was given to the newly discovered element.

From Quiz Salt With Your Halogen?

Answer: Salt producing

Halogen means salt producing because when halogens interact with metals they create different types of salts. For example, when chlorine is combined with sodium it produces sodium chloride which can be found in table salt.

From Quiz Not Necessarily Heavy Metal

Answer: Copper

The right arm of the Statue of Liberty arrived in the States first and was put on public display at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. From there it was transported to New York City and put on display there from 1876 to 1882. Lack of funds to complete the statue slowed the project down. It was a joint project between the United States and France from the very beginning, with France doing the actual building. Noted publisher Joseph Pulitzer started a fundraiser and the statue was finally completed and shipped in crates from France. It was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

From Quiz Elements and Places

Answer: Hafnium

Aside from being used in electrodes and filaments and other electronic applications, hafnium is also used in nuclear reactors as a neutron moderator. It has a steel gray appearance, and was discovered in 1923 by Coster & Hevesy. Copenhagen was previously known as Hafnia.

From Quiz Radioactive Elements

Answer: Technetium

Technetium was the first element to be produced synthetically. It is atomic number 43 of the periodic table. When constructing the periodic table in the late 1800s, scientists were only able to speculate about an element that fell between elements 42 (Molybdenum) and 44 (Ruthenium). In 1937, the existence of technetium was finally confirmed by Italian scientists Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segre. All of the known isotopes of technetium are radioactive and only a trace amount of the element exists naturally on Earth.

From Quiz It's Still an Elemental World

Answer: Polonium

The husband and wife team in question were Pierre and Marie Curie. They discovered polonium as part of an investigation into the cause of radioactivity in uraninite, an ore then known as pitchblende. When it remained radioactive after the known radioactive elements of uranium and thorium had been removed, they realised there must be something else still there and subsequently discovered both polonium and radium. Marie Curie (nee Sklodowska) was born in 1867 in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. However, at both the time of her birth and her discovery of polonium, the formerly independent country was under Russian control. It is believed that naming of the new element after the country was intended to make a political point. Poland finally gained independence again in 1918 following the end of the First World War - an event Marie Curie was able to witness before her death from cancer in 1934. Gallium and Francium are both named after France, Pierre Curie's home country. Curium, discovered in 1944, was named after both Marie and Pierre.

From Quiz It's an Elemental World

Answer: Francium

Although the existence of the element that later came to be known as francium had been the subject of 19th century theories, it wasn't until 1939 that it was formally discovered. It was the last element to be first discovered in nature, rather than synthesised in a laboratory. However, a science laboratory is really the only place where you would be likely to see any francium as it is a fast-decaying element which quickly turns itself into astatine, radon and radium. The only isotope that is found naturally - francium-223 - forms (in trace amounts) in uranium and thorium ores and has a half-life of just 22 minutes. Marguerite Perey was a French physicist who trained under Marie Curie. She discovered francium (initially named eka-caesium or actinium-K) in 1939 while working at the Curie Institute in Paris and later went on to work at the University of Strasbourg. She died of cancer in 1975 (the same fate suffered by Curie) after years of working with radioactive substances. Ironically, one of the few applications of francium that have been investigated over the years was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to use it in cancer detection techniques.

From Quiz Not-So-Trivial Chemistry Trivia

Answer: Lithium

A member of the alkali metal group, lithium is the least-dense of all solid elements and the lightest of the metals. Highly reactive, lithium does not occur naturally on its own but, rather, in compounds such as lithium chloride.

From Quiz Elementary, My Dear Watson

Answer: Battery

Lithium is the lightest and least dense of all metals, and the third lightest of all the elements. Lithium was discovered in a mineral called petalite in 1817, but the pure metal was not isolated until 1821. Its name comes the Greek word "lithos," meaning "stone." Its first use came when it was discovered that certain lithium compounds could be used to treat some mental disorders. Lithium and its compounds have many uses, but one of the most common applications is in batteries. Lithium batteries are small and last a long time. Chances are that if you are wearing a wristwatch, it's powered by a lithium battery.

From Quiz Three elements: What do the numbers mean?

Answer: Atomic number

Each element has its own unique atomic number. The atomic number is determined by the number of protons of one atom of that element.

From Quiz Xenon is Just One

Answer: 6

The elements that are part of the exclusive noble gases group are: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon.

From Quiz The Particles of Life

Answer: Carbon

It is assumed that if life exists outside of earth, it must be carbon based. This has become known as carbon chauvinism.

From Quiz Elementary Chemistry 1

Answer: Graphite

Graphite is the only non-metal which can conduct electricity because it has free moving electrons. Graphite is used as an electrode in electric cells and to make leads of pencils.

From Quiz Periodic Table Basics

Answer: Lead

Usually classified as one of the heavy metals, lead has the highest atomic number of all stable (non-radioactive) elements. Used in many things like cookware, building construction, bullets, and paint, lead has played an important role in society since the ancient age. I also found that all uranium isotopes, (versions of the atom), are radioactive.

From Quiz Elementary, my dear Watson

Answer: Bromine

The Brits used bromide to suppress the libido of their troops, though with limited success.

From Quiz Edible Essential Elements

Answer: Flatulence

Carbon (element 6 in the periodic table) is present in all organic materials. So unless you starve to death, you'll most certainly consume carbon in one form or another. There is no typical outer appearance of carbon. To illustrate this, compare two of the pure forms of carbon: where diamonds are clear, transparent and very hard, graphite is opaque, black and rather soft. Yet both are pure carbon. Charcoal biscuits contain active charcoal, a carbon compound with various medical applications. Administering active charcoal can help to eliminate toxic products from the digestive tract. Active charcoal is also available as over the counter drug to alleviate diarrhoea. The charcoal biscuits were (and still are) used to diminish flatulence. As active charcoal can alleviate diarrhoea, it is counterproductive in case of constipation. Hypertrichosis is the presence of too much hair, and can't be remediated by any food supplement. A razor could be of some use to diminish the symptoms, but doesn't fight the cause. Measles are a viral infection. Only the presence of the virus can cause the disease, and up to date medication is only used to alleviate the symptoms. The auto-immune system will have to cure the disease.

From Quiz Elements

Answer: sulfur

Sulfur can be formed into an acid. It is also released in volcanic eruptions.

From Quiz Which Element is it?

Answer: hydrogen

Hydrogen is the lightest element and produces water when burned. In Greek, the word 'hydrogen' actually means 'water-former'.

From Quiz Elements

Answer: Radium

Radium's atomic number is 88 and its symbol is Ra. INTERESTING NOTE: In the mid 1920s, five of the 'Radium Girls' (a nickname applied to the numeral painters) filed a lawsuit, alleging that the radium-based paints they were using were killing them (radium causes serious health effects, including anaemia and bone cancer).

From Quiz Gold, Silver and Bronze

Answer: Hydrochloric acid and nitric acid

In Latin, aqua regia means royal water. It can also dissolve platinum.

From Quiz Elementary Scientists and Mathematicians

Answer: Lavoisier

LaVOISiEr Antoine Lavoisier was a French chemist. He was the pioneer of stoichiochemistry. He was also known as the Father of Modern Chemistry.

From Quiz EleMental!

Answer: Protium, deuterium and tritium

Protium is the most abundant hydrogen isotope and consists of one proton, orbited by a single electron. It is a stable isotope of hydrogen and is the most abundant element in the Universe, composing approximately 89% of the Universe, a completely accurate measurement would be impossible, however, given the frankly ridiculous size of the Universe. Deuterium is also stable, but composes a mere 0.015% of all hydrogen found on Earth. This isotope of hydrogen consists of one proton and one neutron, again orbited by a single electron. If two deuterium atoms bond with one oxygen atom then heavy water is formed. This is very similar to standard, boring water, but has slightly different properties, as it forms stronger bonds. The melting and boiling points are different; it is slightly more viscous and is a slightly worse solvent than ordinary water. It has been estimated one in every six thousand drops of water is none other than heavy water. However, what is slightly more worrying is that there is a reasonably large amount of fluoride, which is toxic in large amounts, in drinking water as well. Finally, we reach tritium, an unstable isotope of hydrogen which decays via beta-minus decay. This means that a neutron is converted into a proton, an electron and for anybody who knows a lot about particle physics, an antineutrino, which is a very unreactive, boring particle. Surprisingly, it is used in exit signs as an alternative means of lighting them, in the case of a lack of power. These signs operate by using the free electron to carry an electrical charge. The fact that tritium is a low-energy beta-emitter, which means that the electron, and antineutrino, which are discharged from the nucleus does not have a great deal of energy, it is considered safe, but PLEASE do not damage any exit signs! Unium, duium and trium are Latin numbers with the suffix '-ium' added in an incorrect fashion, einsium, zweium and dreium are German numbers with the suffix '-ium' added and unium, deuxium and troisuim are French numbers with the suffix '-ium' added, unfortunately none of these are correct.

From Quiz The Chemical Rhyme

Answer: Tungsten

Tungsten has many uses around the world. Its strength-to-weight ratio allows it to be used in aircraft, space shuttles etc. It is also used in applications requiring very hard metals as it has a high Moh hardness. It is also the metal with the highest melting point and the element with the second highest melting point (3695K). Tungsten also has a high electrical resistance, which has given it use in incandescent lighting.

From Quiz Elements: What They Are Named After

Answer: Indium

Indium is a very soft, silvery-white metal. Its major application today is as a coating for LCD screens. Heck, you might even be looking at it right now!

From Quiz Origins of Element Names

Answer: Platinum

"Plata" is the Spanish equivalent for silver.

From Quiz Circus of the Elements

Answer: bromine

Liquid bromine, Br2, atomic number 35, was isolated in 1826 by Antoine Jerome Balard, who was able to extract it from seawater. It is a very dense liquid (1 litre of it weighs over 3 kg!) with a distinctive deep brown colour and sharp odour. Bromine is a member of the group of the periodic table known as the halogens. This group also includes chlorine (as found in salt, sodium chloride) and iodine. Mercury, while existing in its natural state as a liquid, is a metal, not a non-metal.

From Quiz Interesting Elements

Answer: boron

Boron receives its name from the mineral borax with the "-on" ending being analogous to that of carbon. One of its main uses is the "diborane in diglyme" reaction, which has put horrors into me many times over. "Diborane in diglyme" is a convenient way to make alkenes into alcohol.

From Quiz The Noble Gases

Answer: They are inert, and do not easily form chemical compounds.

Of course! Noble gases are defined by their inertness, that is, their property of not being readily changed by chemical or biological reactions. The word 'noble' itself signifies being chemically inactive and is even attributed to a set of non-reactive metals, called 'noble metals', which include gold, silver and platinum. The gases themselves are inert because they have a full outer shell of electrons, which means that the formation of chemical compounds is very difficult. Because of this property of inertness, the noble gases are found in their free state in the air, and rarely, if ever, in the form of chemical compounds. In fact, scientists have managed to create compounds only of the 3 heaviest noble gases (radon, xenon and krypton). Radon and xenon react readily with fluorine (a halogen), whereas in the case of krypton, compounds have been produced only with great difficulty. As for the lighter noble gases (helium, neon and argon), the chances of compounds being created are rather dim.

From Quiz The Uses of Elements

Answer: Yttrium

The chemical formula Y2O3 is the actual compound that is used in television tubes. Yttrium can also be used in laser systems.

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