Chemistry Code Cracking Trivia Quiz

Answer: Galileo Galilei.

Believe it or not, Galileo does not have an element named after him. Glenn T. Seaborg has the element seaborgium (Sg) named after him. Seaborgium was synthesised by Albert Ghiorso and his team at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. This was done by bombarding californium-249 with ions of oxygen-18 using a Super-Heavy Ion Linear Accelerator, which is a machine capable of accelerating large ions up to incredibly high speed by using AC voltage, which is a type of voltage where the current's size switches. Scientists in Dubna, Russia, claimed to have produced seaborgium 3 months prior to those in the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. However, following the confirmation of the discovery in the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, the scientists there were credited with the discovery. All known isotopes of seaborgium are unstable.

Niels Bohr has the element bohrium (Bh) named after him. Bohrium was first synthesised by a group of scientists working at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna. Bohrium was produced by bombarding Bismuth-209 with ions of Chromium-54. All known isotopes of Bohrium are unstable.

Finally, Albert Einstein has the element einsteinium named after him. Einsteinium was first discovered, like seaborgium, by Albert Ghiorso in 1952, when he led a team of scientists in studying debris from the first hydrogen bomb. This is a bomb which fuses hydrogen atoms together, resulting in lighter products and energy, which is emitted in the form of an explosion. All known isotopes of einsteinium are unstable.

Answer: Nitrogen.

Nitrogen was first discovered by Daniel Rutherford in 1772. It is highly unreactive, which means that it can be used during welding and soldering operations, as it will not react. However, it can be reacted with hydrogen, which is obtained from natural gas, which is predominantly methane (CH4.) It is passed over an iron catalyst at temperatures of 450 degrees celcius and high pressures of around 200 times atmospheric pressure, which is enough to make the nitrogen react. The ammonia which is produced is then cooled to form liquid ammonia, as this prevents the ammonia from decomposing into hydrogen and nitrogen. Any hydrogen and nitrogen that is formed, however, is recycled. This process is known as the Haber process. The ammonia which is then produced can be used in fertilisers.

Radon is a gas which has no known stable isotopes. Because it is a naturally occurring gas it is present in some homes. This is worrying, as it can be inhaled, exposing tissue directly to alpha radiation. Alpha radiation is an atom consisting of two protons and two neutrons, which is ejected from an atom's nucleus, in order to stabilise it. Alpha particles are heavily ionising, which means that they will take electrons from atoms, resulting in the production of ions. This can cause damage to living cells, resulting in cancer.

Xenon is often used in lighting as it produces a brilliant glow when an electrical current is passed through it. It will also form some compounds. People once believed noble gasses to be completely inert (unreactive,) however, some do form compounds as a result of the small amount of energy holding the electrons in outer shells in orbit. Consequently, xenon forms a number of compounds, including xenon difluoride.

Krypton is very expensive to obtain, but is sometimes used with argon in light bulbs. This is because they are unreactive, they will not be contaminated with oxygen, which burns and could damage the filament of the lamp. It is also combined with other gasses for use in lighting, due to the glow given off, when an electrical current is passed through them. Finally, like xenon, krypton forms a small number of compounds, most commonly krypton difluoride.

Answer: 80.

Mercury has the atomic number of eighty, which means that it has eighty protons in its nucleus. Mercury has a number of uses, such as in thermometers and barometers, as it remains liquid at a vast range of temperatures, including room temperature. It conducts electricity and can therefore be used in tilt switches, as it is a liquid at room temperature. When the switch is tilted, the mercury moves, bridging a contact, this can be useful in devices sensitive to position. Mercury can also be used in batteries, to produce electrons; however, only mercuric oxide (HgO) can be used, pure mercury is not used. When mercury is alloyed with silver it produces a substance called an amalgam, which can be used in dental fillings, as it can be inserted into a tooth when it is soft, but subsequently sets to form a very hard filling, stronger than many alternatives and it is much cheaper. Mercurous chloride (Hg2Cl2) is used as an antiseptic, mercuric sulfide (HgS) is used to make vermilion, which is used as a pigment in a number of red paints.

However, mercury is very poisonous and excessive amounts can cause severe damage to a number of organs, including the brain and the lungs.

Answer: Gadolinium.

Gadolinium is the only lanthanide here, lawrencium and californium are both actinides and tellurium is a chalcogen. Gadolinium is used in control rods in nuclear reactors. Nuclear power works by utilising the process of nuclear fission to obtain energy. The process works by using uranium-235 as the source of power. Neutrons are present in the reactor and if the atom of uranium-235 captures the neutron, the atom of uranium-235 splits, releasing a great deal of energy. However, if this wasn't controlled, there may be enough energy given off to destroy the reactor, it is also unnecessary, as surplus energy would be produced and un-economical as a result of this. Therefore, control rods are used to capture some neutrons and control the reaction and gadolinium is very good at this, as it has the greatest ability to capture neutrons of all known elements.

Mendelevium was synthesised by a team of scientists including Glenn T. Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso by bombarding atoms of einsteinium-253 with helium ions. This was done with a, which is a device that accelerates particles using radio waves to switch the charges between positive and negative of two cavities, this causes the particles to move rapidly, accelerating them.

Lawrencium was synthesised by four scientists, Albert Ghiorso, Torbjørn Sikkeland, Almon E. Larsh and Robert M. Latimer by bombarding californium with boron ions in a linear accelerator.

Finally, tellurium was discovered by a Romanian mining official named Franz Joseph Müller von Reichenstein. It is primarily used to alloy copper and stainless steel, to make them easier to shape and cut and it is alloyed with lead to make it stronger and more resistant to the weak sulfuric acid in acid rain.

Answer: Francium.

Francium has no commercial uses and is solely used for scientific research. It is generally produced by bombarding thorium with protons, or radium with neutrons, due to its scarcity in nature. Gold-198 can be used to treat cancer, as can cobalt-60 and occasionally small amounts of radon are used.

Answer: Protactinium.

Protactinium does occur naturally and was discovered by Kasimir Fajans and O.H. Göhring in 1913 as he was studying the decay of Uranium, which is the reason for protactinium's natural occurrence.

Promethium is produced by bombarding neodymium-146 with neutrons, which becomes neodymium-147, which decays into promethium-147 through beta-minus decay. This is a process of radioactive decay, where a neutron is converted into a proton, an electron and a neutrino, which is a particle that scarcely interacts with matter. The electron and the neutrino are subsequently ejected from the atom's nucleus.

Roentgenium was first produced by bombarding atoms of bismuth-209 with ions of nickel-64 using a linear accelerator. Whereas Hassium was first produced by bombarding atoms of lead-208 with ions of iron-58. This was also done in a linear accelerator.

Hassium was first produced by a team which was led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenber by bombarding atoms of lead-208 with ions of iron-58 in a linear accelerator.

Answer: Na+

Sodium has one electron in its outer shell to lose, which means that, if it does lose this electron, it will become Na+. Sodium vapour is used in street lights, as it gives off a brilliant, yellow glow. Liquid sodium is used as a coolant in nuclear reactors, as it is effective, but the reactor can be run at higher temperatures, at is not quite as effective, not being as cold.

Answer: An atom which has become negatively charged, as a result of the gain of one or more electrons.

An ion is an atom which has either lost or gained electrons, which will result in an overall charge on the atom, as the charges of the protons and electrons are no longer balanced, as there are a different number of electrons. An anion is a negatively charged ion and it will become so by gaining one or more electrons.

This is because electrons are negatively charged, so having more will result in a negative charge overall.

Answer: 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6.

The correct form of electron shell notation is having the number at the start referring to the electron shell. A shell is simply an area of energy, capable of holding various numbers of electrons. The letter should refer to the subshell, which is an area of energy within the original shell. The number next to the letter (which would normally be written in superscript) refers to the number of electrons in the subshell. Argon has a full '1s' subshell of two electrons, which is written as '1s2', a full '2s' subshell of two electrons ('2s2'), a full '2p' subshell of six electrons ('2p6') a full '3s' subshell ('3s2') and a full '3p' subshell ('3p6'). I have also included the following list, which is a list of the number of electrons which can be held in all subshells.

's': 2
'p': 6
'd': 10
'f': 14

'd' and 'f' are simply further subshells, which can hold more electrons.

Argon itself is inert and forms no known compounds. Therefore, it is used in light bulbs, as previously stated, to prevent oxygen from corroding the filament. It is also used in arc welding, which is a type of welding using electrodes to create heat, which must not be corroded.

Answer: Platina.

The name platinum actually comes from the Spanish word "platina", which means silver. Plato was a Greek philosopher, who wrote and taught extensively about a number of philosophical issues, including morality, justice, virtue, wisdom, courage and moderation. A plate is something which is used for serving food and Platin is a Slovenian musical duet, which was chosen to nominate the nation in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest.

Platinum itself has a number of uses, including in jewellery, as it is shiny, corrosion resistant, so will remain shiny for a long time, and easy to work with. It is also used to make electrical wire, as it is very ductile, so can be easily formed into a wire. It is also used to coat missiles nose cones and jet engine fuel nozzles, as it will not corrode, even at high temperatures. Finally, it is often used as a catalyst, notably in catalytic converters. These are devices which reduce the toxicity of car emissions. This is achieved by reducing nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen, oxidising carbon monoxide, to form carbon dioxide and oxidising un-burnt hydrocarbons. Reducing the nitrogen oxides is done by passing the nitrogen oxide over the catalyst, which breaks the bonds, reducing the nitrogen oxides. The carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are oxidised by burning them over the catalyst, which aids the reaction.