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Quiz about Circus of the Elements
Quiz about Circus of the Elements

Circus of the Elements Trivia Quiz


Roll up, roll up! Come and see the elements in all their glory! See amazing displays of strength! See elemental oddities in our sideshow! Be enthralled with elemental displays of ingenuity! Come and be entertained by the Circus of the Elements!

A multiple-choice quiz by NatalieW. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
NatalieW
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
193,448
Updated
Aug 07 23
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
7939
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: wwwocls (5/10), cornfield (5/10), emmal2000uk (3/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Oh, you're going to love this one! This element has been wowing them in our sideshow for years. It's the only non-metallic element to exist as a liquid at room temperature. What is its name? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. This next act is a group. They've always kept to themselves somewhat, rarely interacting with the other elements in the circus. They call themselves Group 8 (or sometimes Group 18 depending on their mood). Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Now we come to the big daddy of the circus - our strong-man. He's often found strutting around the tents impressing everyone with his size. This element has the largest atomic radius of all the naturally occurring elements and he certainly lets everyone know about it! Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Our next performer also isn't afraid of showing off - he's a star in his flame-swallowing act because he has the highest boiling point of all the elements. Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Another circus act not afraid of feeling the heat is our firewalker - he's entirely comfortable strolling across a bed of glowing coals because he has the highest melting point of all the elements. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Our next act is a graceful lady of the sky, thrilling everyone with her trapeze act. She has no fear of falling because she's the lightest element of them all! Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. From the lightest to the heaviest - our next elemental act is the heaviest element there is. He's formed a double act with the strong-man of the elemental circus and they've been impressing audiences with their combined might. What is the name of this element with the highest density? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Well, our next performer has no trouble attracting friends, particularly of the electronic variety. She's always happy to stop and have a chat with an electron or two, because she's the most electronegative element of the Periodic Table. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. One of the most popular acts we have is up next. They're a group act made up of a number of metals and have been exciting audiences for years with their colourful performances and varying oxidation states (you should see the lightning change from zero to +6!). What is the name of this group? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Now on to our final, and shyest, act. You'll only ever see her when she's performing her balancing act as she tends to shy away from the public eye. She's the rarest element in the earth's crust. Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Oh, you're going to love this one! This element has been wowing them in our sideshow for years. It's the only non-metallic element to exist as a liquid at room temperature. What is its name?

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.
2. This next act is a group. They've always kept to themselves somewhat, rarely interacting with the other elements in the circus. They call themselves Group 8 (or sometimes Group 18 depending on their mood).

Answer: noble gases

The noble gases comprise the elements of group 8 (sometimes known as group 18 depending on the numbering system being followed). The naturally occurring elements of Group 8 are (in order of increasing atomic number) helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe) and radon (Rn).

The noble gases are known for their chemical inertness, which is what gave rise to their group name. Their lack of reactivity is due to the fact that they all possess a full ("closed") outer shell of electrons, meaning that there is no incentive for them to combine with another element in order to achieve this favourable situation.

Some compounds of the noble gases are known (for example, XeF6), but by and large they are the standoffish group of the periodic table!
3. Now we come to the big daddy of the circus - our strong-man. He's often found strutting around the tents impressing everyone with his size. This element has the largest atomic radius of all the naturally occurring elements and he certainly lets everyone know about it!

Answer: cesium

Cesium (Cs; also known as caesium) is one of the alkali metals (group 1) and has an atomic radius of 3.34 Angstroms (an Angstrom is 10^-10 of a metre). It was discovered jointly by Gustov Kirchoff and Robert Bunsen in Germany in 1860. Its name is derived from the Latin "caesius", meaning "sky blue", as its salts turn flames blue. Cesium is not the last member of the alkali metals - this honour goes to francium, whose atomic radius would be expected to be larger due to it containing more electrons.

However, at this stage, francium has only been obtained from the radioactive decay of actinium (and then decays to radium or astatine) and its atomic radius has yet to be determined.
4. Our next performer also isn't afraid of showing off - he's a star in his flame-swallowing act because he has the highest boiling point of all the elements.

Answer: tungsten

Tungsten (W), atomic number 74, is a transition metal with a boiling point of 5655 C (10211 F); its melting point is also a rather healthy 3407 C (6165 F)! It was jointly discovered in 1783 by Spanish scientists Fausto and Juan José de Elhuyar. Its name is derived from the Swedish "tung sten" ("heavy stone") and its chemical symbol from its German name wolfram.

Its high melting point makes it ideal for using it to make the filaments in light bulbs.
5. Another circus act not afraid of feeling the heat is our firewalker - he's entirely comfortable strolling across a bed of glowing coals because he has the highest melting point of all the elements.

Answer: carbon

Carbon (C), atomic number 6, has a melting point of 3500 C (6332 F), although interestingly, its boiling point of 4827 C (8721 F) is less than that of tungsten (see Qu 4). Carbon is the basis on which our bodies are built: everything from our bones to our DNA contains carbon. Carbon has been known since ancient times and its name is derived from the Latin word "carbo" meaning "charcoal". Carbon is an element that is found in a number of physical forms.

These different physical forms of an element are called allotropes. Allotropes of carbon include graphite (used as the "lead" in pencils) and diamond (used as a gemstone).
6. Our next act is a graceful lady of the sky, thrilling everyone with her trapeze act. She has no fear of falling because she's the lightest element of them all!

Answer: hydrogen

Hydrogen (H), atomic number 1, is the lightest of all the elements with a density of only 0.0899 grams per litre (yes, that's _litre_!). Helium is next in line with a density of 0.1785 g/L. Hydrogen was discovered in England in 1766 by Henry Cavendish.

It has been calculated that, by mass, 73% of the universe is hydrogen (that's a lot of hydrogen!), making it the universe's most abundant element. A lot of this hydrogen is found in stars, where it is used as fuel; on earth, hydrogen is most commonly found in combination with oxygen as water and also in mines and oil and gas wells.
7. From the lightest to the heaviest - our next elemental act is the heaviest element there is. He's formed a double act with the strong-man of the elemental circus and they've been impressing audiences with their combined might. What is the name of this element with the highest density?

Answer: osmium

Osmium (Os), atomic number 76, has a density of 22.6 grams per millilitre, the same as iridium (that's seriously heavy - consider that water has a density of 1 g/ml). Iridium and osmium have been battling for the title of "heaviest element" for some time now; they have changed places a number of times (due to refinements in density measurement techniques), but to the third significant figure, their density is the same. Osmium was discovered in 1804 by Smithson Tenant in England.

Its name is derived from the Greek word "osme", meaning "odour" due to the metal's pungent smell.

It is derived from the same ores as platinum and has a variety of uses ranging from being used to tip the points of gold pens to being used in the filaments for electric lights.
8. Well, our next performer has no trouble attracting friends, particularly of the electronic variety. She's always happy to stop and have a chat with an electron or two, because she's the most electronegative element of the Periodic Table.

Answer: fluorine

Fluorine (F), atomic number 9, has an electronegativity of 3.98 (on the Pauling electronegativity scale). This means that fluorine has a very high affinity for electrons and will tend to gain an electron to form a fluoride ion, F-. In general, non-metals tend to be electronegative, while metals tend to be the opposite (electropositive). Fluorine was discovered by Henri Moissan in France in 1886. Because of its high electronegativity, it is very reactive; it is used in refrigerants and also in toothpaste as sodium fluoride (NaF) and can also be found in Teflon, which is a polymer of tetrafluoroethylene.
9. One of the most popular acts we have is up next. They're a group act made up of a number of metals and have been exciting audiences for years with their colourful performances and varying oxidation states (you should see the lightning change from zero to +6!). What is the name of this group?

Answer: transition metals

The transition metals are a group of metals in the centre of the periodic table encompassing Groups 3-12 inclusive (group numbers based on the new IUPAC system). The transition metals are known for their variable oxidation states; for example, iron (Fe) can exist in either a +2 or a +3 oxidation state while chromium (Cr) can exist in oxidation states of +2, +3 and +6. Transition metal ions also form compounds called metal complexes, which are often coloured due to the outermost d-electrons present in the metal ion; for example, complexes of nickel(II) are green in colour.
10. Now on to our final, and shyest, act. You'll only ever see her when she's performing her balancing act as she tends to shy away from the public eye. She's the rarest element in the earth's crust.

Answer: astatine

Astatine (At), atomic number 85, is the earth's rarest element, with only 25 g in total occurring naturally. It is so rare that it is usually sourced by bombarding the element bismuth with alpha particles. Astatine is a member of the halogens group and was discovered in 1940.

Its name is derived from the Greek word "astatos" meaning "unstable", an entirely suitable name as it is a radioactive element with a half-life of only 8.1 hours. Well, tonight's performance of Circus of the Elements is over; hope you enjoyed the show!
Source: Author NatalieW

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