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Elementary, My Dear Quizzers

Here are ten clues of varying difficulty that each point to a chemical element. Your job is to identify each.

A multiple-choice quiz by thomas1975. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
thomas1975

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
424,942

Updated
Jul 27 26

# Qns
10

Difficulty
New Game

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
21

Last 3 plays: Guest 146 (8/10), idlern (10/10), Sportsphreak (7/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The first clue is James Bond film with one word - the one that connects to an element - missing: "____ Are Forever" Can you identify the missing word and then name the element? (the substance in question is entirely comprised of this single element). Hint

Silicon

Carbon

Germanium

Tin

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Question 2 of 10

2. Oliver Sacks wrote a book about an uncle of his who worked with and was obsessed by a particular metal. The title was "Uncle _____" with the missing word being an element. Which metal fills the gap?

Answer: (Lightbulb)

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Question 3 of 10

3. Meriadoc (shortened often in the book to Merry) is an English rendering of the character's name. In the appendices we are told the actual name which includes the first four letters of the Latin name of this element, from which it takes its chemical symbol. Can you identify this highly reactive metal? Hint

Sodium

Iron

Mercury

Potassium

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Question 4 of 10

4. The title of a children's book by Ted Hughes is "The ______ Man" where the gap is filled by a metal. Which metal completes this title? Hint

Nickel

Copper

Cobalt

Iron

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Question 5 of 10

5. King Midas had a connection with a metallic element. Which one? Hint

Gold

Platinum

Silver

Iron

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Question 6 of 10

6. One of the Sherlock Holmes stories features a coronet. The gemstones with which the coronet is set are closely connected to an element. Which one?

Rubidium

Beryllium

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Question 7 of 10

7. Our next element could be connected to the pre-Olympian gods in Greek mythology, to Saturn's largest moon or a to a Shakespearean fairy queen. Which is this strong lightweight? Hint

Titanium

Tantalum

Vanadium

Niobium

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Question 8 of 10

8. This element inspired the name of South America's second largest country and of the river that forms the border between it and one of its neighbours. What is this element? Hint

Silver

Copper

Gold

Platinum

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Question 9 of 10

9. This element is named for a double Nobel laureate, who discovered two new elements during her remarkable career. Which element is it? Hint

Curium

Meitnerium

Copernicium

Rutherfordium

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Question 10 of 10

10. The Time Traveller is the messenger for our final element and his words are these: "My author's first two initials will tell you the element you are looking for". The book was published in 1895. Can you prevent this famously tricky element from escaping by identifying it?
Hint

Francium

Bromine

Mercury

Gallium

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Carbon

The missing word is "Diamonds", and diamond is one of the forms in which the element carbon naturally exists. The wrong answers are all in the same group opf the periodic table as carbon.

Answer: Tungsten

Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals. It is also noted for its hardness and toughness - industrial cutters are often edged with tungsten carbide. I recommend "Uncle Tungsten".

Answer: Potassium

The Master of Buckland in question is Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Meriadoc is an English translation of Kalimac, which contains the first four letters of Kalium, the Latin name of Potassium. The three wrong answers all also have chemical symbols that do not come from their English names: Sodium is Na, Mercury, Hg, Iron, Fe.

4. The title of a children's book by Ted Hughes is "The ______ Man" where the gap is filled by a metal. Which metal completes this title?

Answer: Iron

Iron it is. Iron, like all the wrong answers, is a transition metal. The title character's enemy is an invader from outer space, who covers the whole of Australia. The Iron Man takes this villain on in a heat endurance contest and wins, sending him packing.

5. King Midas had a connection with a metallic element. Which one?

Answer: Gold

He was reputed to have a touch that turned stuff into gold. Silver and platinum are also precious metals, though iron is not.

6. One of the Sherlock Holmes stories features a coronet. The gemstones with which the coronet is set are closely connected to an element. Which one?

Answer: Beryllium

The story is "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet", so the element in this question is beryllium, number four in the periodic table. Rubidium is an alkali metal, number 37 in the table.

7. Our next element could be connected to the pre-Olympian gods in Greek mythology, to Saturn's largest moon or a to a Shakespearean fairy queen. Which is this strong lightweight?

Answer: Titanium

The pre-Olympian gods are the Titans, Saturn's largest moon is Titan and the Shakespearean fairy queen is Titania. Titanium is one of the strongest of all metals and is also very light, which makes it extremely useful in a variety of ways. The three wrong answers all also have mythological connections, vanadium to Norse mythology (Vanadis is an alternative name for the goddess Freyja), the other two to Greek mythology (Tantalus challenged the gods by serving them a meal consisting of his son Pelops, for which he was punished by having food and drink permanently just out of his reach, while Niobe was the daughter of Tantalus).

8. This element inspired the name of South America's second largest country and of the river that forms the border between it and one of its neighbours. What is this element?

Answer: Silver

The country is Argentina, 'the land of silver' (from the Latin Argentum, which also provides the symbol for silver - Ag), and the river is the Rio de la Plata, the name of which also references silver. Two of the three wrong answers are also precious metals and the other has a vast range of uses.

9. This element is named for a double Nobel laureate, who discovered two new elements during her remarkable career. Which element is it?

Answer: Curium

All the options here are named for very high achievers in science, but only one of the four fits the clue. Curium was named in honour of Marie Curie, discoverer of radium and polonium. Of the others only Meitnerium, which commemorates Lise Meitner, was named after a female.

Answer: Mercury

The Time Traveller was created by Herbert George Wells, whose name always appears on the covers of his books as HG Wells. Hg is the symbol for Mercury (from the Latin Hydrargyrum - "water-silver"), so that is the answer. Bromine is the only element besides Mercury that is liquid at room temperature, while Gallium (named by Lecoq de Boisbaudran after the Latin for his home country, which just happened also to be Latin for Lecoq) has such a low melting point that it will melt in your hand (Please do not try this at home - it is toxic.) and all the heavier alkali metals, of which Francium is one also have very low melting points.

As for the Time Traveller being the messenger in this question, Mercury is the Roman equivalent of the Greek Hermes - the messenger of the gods.

Source: Author thomas1975

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor trident before going online.
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