We Need More Silicon Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bluish grey solid

In its elemental form, pure silicon appears as a solid with a bluish grey colour.
The false answers are three of the four possible appearances of phosphorus, element 15 in the Periodic Table.

Answer: Corundum

Some of you may have seen that all four answers are included in the Mohs scale of hardness: talc has a Mohs hardness of 1, quartz has a Mohs hardness of 7, topaz 8 and corundum 9. Diamond has a Mohs hardness of 10 and is pure carbon.

But knowing the relative hardness does not help you to find the exact chemical formula, the only way to discover whether the mineral contains any silicon.

Well: talc has the formula "Mg3 Si4 O10 (OH)2". So every molecule of talc contains three atoms of magnesium, four atoms of silicon, ten atoms of oxygen, and two hydroxyl groups (one hydrogen and one oxygen atom together).

Quartz has the formula "Si O2" - one atom of silicon and two atoms of oxygen per molecule.
The formula for topaz is "Al2 Si O4 (F OH)2": per molecule two atoms of aluminium, one atom of silicon, four atoms of oxygen and two hydroxyl groups that each are closely bonded to an atom of fluorine.

Corundum on the other hand does not contain silicon. Its formula is "Al2 O3" - two atoms of aluminium and three atoms of oxygen per molecule.

Answer: Ruby

Ruby is a variety of corundum ("Al2 O3") with traces of chromium, and owes its reddish colour mainly to these chromium traces. Sapphire is also a type of corundum, but its colour is blue because of other inclusions.

Emerald is a variety of beryl and has the chemical formula "Be3 Al2 (Si O3)6", with inclusions of chromium, iron and/or vanadium. The exact colour of an emerald depends on the relative weight of each of the included impurities.

Amethyst is a type of quartz (chemical formula "Si O2") with inclusions of loose iron ions, which following irradiation substitute a few of the silicon atoms and thus appear as the violet iron oxide "Fe O4".

Garnets come in several different chemical formulas. There is a series with (per molecule) two atoms of aluminium, three atoms of silicon, twelve atoms of oxygen and three atoms of either magnesium, iron or manganese, and another series has three atoms of calcium, three atoms of silicon, twelve atoms of oxygen and two atoms of either iron, aluminium or chromium per molecule. Needless to say that with so many formulas, the physical appearance of garnet (including colour and hardness) is relatively variable.

Answer: No

Most glass is made starting with silica (silicon dioxide, "Si O2").

Glass making started with heating silicon minerals, such as sand. Adding sodium carbonate ("Na2 C O3"), lime ("Ca O"), magnesium oxide ("Mg O") and aluminium oxide ("Al2 O3") to silica ("Si O2") enhances the properties for use in for instance window panes: better transparency, easy to produce. Soda-lime-silica glass contains typically 70% to 75% silica.

To make glass more resistant to high temperature, silica is enhanced with boron trioxide ("B O3").
The result is, for instance, Pyrex glass, that can be used as a container for preparing oven dishes.

But there is, of course, also glass without silicon - otherwise this question would come with little or no interesting information. One of the most interesting is acrylic glass, a group of polymers based on methyl methacrylate. The chemical formula thus is "(C5 H8 O2)n", where n represents the number of monomers concatenated into the polymer. One of the better known brand names for acrylic glass is Plexiglas.

Answer: Crystal is made with lead and frequent use could induce lead poisoning

All false answers are just figments of my imagination. The only true allegation of these four is that crystal is made with lead - ordinary soda-lime glass is treated with lead oxide to enhance the refraction. Typically the lead oxide takes up at least 16% of the total weight of the crystal, so chances are that someone who drinks daily a lot from crystal glasses is afflicted by lead poisoning.

Answer: Porcelain

Kaolinite has the chemical formula "Al2 Si2 O5 (OH)4" - two atoms of aluminium and two atoms of silicon, together with five atoms of oxygen and four hydroxyl groups. Kaolinite is named after the Chinese region Kaolin, but can be found in other places too. In its purest form it resembles white clay, and it can be used to make fine porcelain. Wikipedia lists several other applications, but porcelain Is the application which, per unit of product, needs the most kaolinite.

Teflon, on the other hand, (a coating for frying pans to prevent the prepared food sticking to the pan) does not contain any silicon, but only carbon and fluorine. Teflon is the best known brand name for polytetrafluoroethylene (abbreviated as PTFE). The specific formula of PTFE is "(C2 F4)n" - a polymer with n being the number of monomers repeated.

Answer: Enhancing the physical strength of copper sheets

The simplest formula for silumin would be "Al Si". But this type cannot be hardened enough, so the most useful types of silumin are "Al Si Mg" or "Al Si Cu" - alloys of aluminium, silicon and either magnesium or copper.

Silumin is used for casting metal products into a specific mold. The addition of silicon makes it more resistant against corrosion, as the silicon protects the metal from moisture. Typically, the silicon accounts for 3% to 25% of the weight of the alloy, with maximum 1% of magnesium or copper and probably also small amounts of iron and/or manganese.

There are no specific chemicals to enhance the electrical conductance of metals. This variable is mainly dependent on the type metal used (silver being the best conductor, copper one of the best cheap conductors), the cross sectional area of the metal fibre, the length and the temperature.

To isolate from radiation, lead is the best known material. Patients who have been treated with high radiation doses, are typically quarantined for a few days in a hospital room with leaded concrete and leaded glass.

Increasing the output of electromagnets can be done in different ways, but not by adding a silicon-aluminium alloy. One option is to use more electricity, another would be to place a ferromagnetic core, and there is also the option of adding more magnetic coils.

Answer: 99,9999999%

Electronic circuits are made with very thin layers of extremely pure silicon, on which part is covered with silicon oxide to insulate electrically. The non-insulated parts of the wafer conduct electron flow that translates to instructions for the appliance in which the wafers are used.

The required purity is 99,999999 % - known as the nine-9 standard. Each impurity can cause unexpected, and thus false, electron flow, which would make the appliance malfunction or not function at all.

This extremely high standard of purity gives the existing chip producents a vast competitive edge.

Answer: Copper, zinc and silicon

An alloy of copper and zinc gives brass, which already has a long history of use - as it is harder than pure copper or pure zinc. But adding a bit of silicon to the alloy makes it silicon tombac, which is harder yet. Silicon tombac (roughly 80% copper, 16% zinc and 4% silicon) is used to cast metal that is about as hard as steel. Silicon tombac is more efficient to make than cast steel, but only if one needs a large number of smaller units.

The alloy of tin, arsenic and silicon is called silicon bronze and is used for making statues.

Answer: False

Osteoporosis is a condition that weakens the skeletal structure. People suffering from osteoporosis thus have higher risk of fracturing a bone, and their fractures don't heal as easily as the fractures in healthy people.

There are dozens of risk factors involved in developing osteoporosis. Age is one of the most important, and females have more risk than males. But these risk factors can't be controlled.

Some risk factors can be controlled, and adequate nutrition is a method to limit the risk of osteoporosis. In this context one needs to secure a sufficient intake of calcium, vitamin D, and several other vitamins and minerals - but silicon is not listed as one of the essential elements to obtain by correct nutrition.