Cryptic Organic Chemistry Trivia Quiz

Answer: Carbon

"Contains" indicates that the solution is hidden somewhere within the clue that precedes the indicator itself. In this case the hidden word is "carbon" ("Scientist's CAR BONnet").

Carbon is the chemical element that is central to organic chemistry; according to many definitions, it is the element that distinguishes organic chemistry from inorganic. Some of the simplest compounds in organic chemistry are called hydrocarbons, molecules that consist of just carbon and hydrogen. Depending on the type of bonding present in any given hydrocarbon, they can be further distinguished into classes such as the alkanes (single bonds only) and alkenes (double bonds).

Answer: Aldehyde

This cryptic kicks off with a coded request to mix up the letters of "lead" and attach the result to a London park ("Hyde"). The functional group called an "aldehyde" results from ALDE (anagrammed "lead") + HYDE. The term aldehyde can be used in organic chemistry in a number of closely related ways, namely it can refer to a compound containing the functional group R-CH=O (where = represents a double bond) as well as referring to the functional group itself.

The simplest of the aldehydes is formaldehyde (known for its use in embalming) which has the chemical formula CH2O. Returning to the R-CH=O formulation, the R-group for formaldehyde is simply hydrogen (H): H-CH=O or H2C=O.

Answer: Ester

An "ester" is a typically sweet-smelling compound that - as well as being synthesised in a laboratory - can be found naturally in fruits such as apples, pears and strawberries. Some esters give off a characteristic aroma of pear drops.

"Ester" can be found hidden in the fragment, "chemist's greatEST ERror", a construction that is a little nod to the fact that numerous famous scientific discoveries are somewhat unexpected. I was considering an alternative version for this cryptic which employed some variant of "Esther, I hear" but ultimately considered the spelling of Esther and ester to be too similar.

Answer: Diol

This cryptic starts with a definition ("two hydroxyls") and wordplay then follows. The key word here is "first" which suggests that the first letter of each word in the fragment that follows it should be isolated and combined. "Direct Inspection Of Liquid" reveals (D + I + O + L) or "diol".

A diol can be identified by the presence of two hydroxyl groups (-OH) in a compound. A well-known example of a diol is ethylene glycol which is used in the production of antifreeze. Two hydroxyls are clear to see in the chemical formula for ethylene glycol, (CH2OH)2.

Answer: Nitrogen

This clue employs a traditional structure for a cryptic whereby the clue starts with a definition which is then followed by wordplay. The definition in this case is "element" and the wordplay is "strange ringtone" where "strange" is the indication that "ringtone" needs to be anagrammed. An anagram of "ringtone" that results in an "element" is "nitrogen".

Nitrogen is a chemical element that is particularly prominent in the field of biochemistry; proteins feature the element in their structure alongside carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Answer: Thiol

"Stinky compound" is the definition of the target word on this occasion, making reference to "thiol", the sulphur-containing compound (general formula, R-SH) with an often unpleasant smell (think rotten eggs). "Thiol" is an anagram of (HOT + LI), the chemical symbol for lithium, and is the decrypted version of "hot lithium".

Answer: Amine

"R-NH2" is the general formula for the amines, a class of compounds that contains a bond between nitrogen and carbon. Carbon is provided by an unspecified chemical structure, R, which differs across amine-containing compounds. We arrive at the solution of "amine" by noting that "bewilders" is an anagram indicator and "Maine" is the fodder. "Amine" is a straightforward anagram of "Maine".

Answer: Ether

"Alien briefly" can be decrypted as "ET" (extraterrestrial), which is a shortened or "brief" representation of "alien". If our short extraterrestrial friend acquires both hydrogen ("H") and erbium ("Er") in that order, we arrive at "ether" (ET + H + ER). There is a non-scientific definition - "Heavens!" - posing as an interjection at the start of the clue.

An ether is a chemical compound that has the general formula R-O-R', indicating an oxygen atom bonded to two organyl groups (R and R'). R in chemical nomenclature is used as something of a wildcard (though this isn't entirely true as its usage does imply some specific chemistry); it can represent, amongst others, the acyl group, alkyl group or carboxyl group. When the term is not being utilised strictly to represent an organyl, the R-group could simply be hydrogen.

Answer: Ketone

The three most important elements of this clue are: "Yttrium dropped", "chaotic keynote" and "low-carb chemical". Yttrium is an element represented by the chemical symbol "Y" and "Yttrium dropped" is asking us to drop the letter "Y" from the fodder contained in the clue. The fodder is "keynote" which is prefaced by the anagram indicator, "chaotic". Dropping "Y" from "keynote" and taking the anagram gives "ketone" which is defined in the clue as "low-carb chemical".

Ketones are a source of energy obtained by the burning of fat. This fat-burning process takes place in the body more prominently when glucose (or carbohydrate more generally) is low; those on a low-carbohydrate diet are said to be in ketosis when their body is burning fat stores and creating ketones.

Answer: Alkane

The word "contaminated" creates a natural surface reading of the clue but also does the heavy lifting as an indicator that an anagram is required to find the solution. "Sodium" is a chemical element represented by the symbol "Na", "sodium lake" is therefore (NA + LAKE) which, when anagrammed reveals "alkane".

Alkanes are hydrocarbons - molecules consisting of hydrogen and carbon - that feature single bonds only. The alkanes have the general formula CnH(2n+2) which helps us work out the chemical formulae for saturated hydrocarbons based on the number of atoms of carbon they contain. The simplest alkane is methane which has one carbon (n = 1) and a chemical formula of CH4.