1. This mineral is an excellent conductor of electricity and also has the unique ability to absorb neutrons. It is, thus, used to control speed of nuclear fission in reactors. It has such a high melting point that it is used as a crucible for melting metals. When combined with other materials, it is extremely strong and found everywhere, from F1 cars to plane fuselages. You would most probably encounter this mineral in a very soft form but under a misnomer. What mineral is this?
2. Ruthenium is a chemical element from the platinum group with the symbol Ru and atomic number 44. Most ruthenium produced is used in wear-resistant electrical contacts and thick-film resistors. The famous Parker 51 fountain pen was fitted with the “RU” nib. In 1844, Karl Ernst Claus discovered this element and named it after his motherland. Which country’s ancient Latin name was Ruthenia?
3. The ancient Romans believed that Cupid’s arrows were tipped with this substance (perhaps the earliest association between this object and romantic love). Its history is quite remarkable as the demand and exorbitant pricing for this is thanks entirely to clever marketing and successful advertising campaigns. The substance is artificially manufactured in tonnes and used for industrial cutting, drilling and polishing. What is this entity with a chequered history? (See pic)
4. This is an essential element needed for life. It sublimates (changes from a solid to a gaseous state directly) easily and gives off a purple vapour (in fact, its name is borrowed from the Greek word for purple). Found everywhere from disinfectants to CT scans, this is the least reactive halogen element. Although it is technically a non-metal, it exhibits some metallic qualities. What is its name?
5. Tungsten is a rare metal and is remarkable for its robustness — especially the fact that it has the highest melting point of all the elements discovered, melting at 3,422°C. This makes it excellent for use in light bulbs, X-ray tubes and welding electrodes. Its other name is derived from ‘lupispuma’, which translates into English as “____’s froth”, and is a reference to the large amounts of tin consumed by the mineral during its extraction (like the ____ eats sheep). What is the one letter chemical symbol for Tungsten which is based on this second name?
6. This silvery-white, soft, non-magnetic, ductile metal with extremely low density is a popular example used to show the difference between some American and British pronunciations. Despite its prevalence in the environment, no known form of life uses its salts metabolically, but it is well tolerated by plants and animals. What very unassuming element is this? And what are its two spellings?
7. This is a colourless, odourless, tasteless noble gas. From 1960 to 1983, the official length of a metre was defined by the 605 nm wavelength of the orange spectral line of this element. It was discovered in Britain in 1898 by Sir William Ramsay, a Scottish chemist, and Morris Travers, an English chemist, in residue left from evaporating nearly all components of liquid air. It is considered to be a non-toxic asphyxiant and has a narcotic potency seven times greater than air. You may have seen these effects in popular culture on a particular alien character, who is seemingly invincible except when it comes to this element. What element is this?
8. The word ‘silver’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘seolfor’. It is a popular myth that there is no word that rhymes with silver but the quizmaster found ‘chilver’ which means a female lamb. Silver is exceptionally shiny! It is the most reflective element, which makes it useful in mirrors, telescopes, microscopes and solar cells. Polished silver reflects 95% of the visible light spectrum. Silver’s chemical name and symbol though, is based on another name whose roots are the Sanskrit word argunas which means ‘shining’. What is the chemical symbol and name for silver?
9. This is the heaviest known alkaline earth metal and is the only radioactive member in its group. This element was once used in watches, nuclear panels, aircraft switches, clocks, and instrument dials. In the mid-1920s, a lawsuit was filed by five dying painters. The dial painters routinely licked their brushes to give them a fine point, thereby ingesting this element. This exposure caused serious health effects and eventually led to bone cancer. This is because the body treats this element as calcium and deposits it in the bones, where radioactivity degrades marrow and mutates the bone cells. Which element is this which has such disastrous consequences?
10. There are 103 elements as of now on the periodic table, each with a unique symbol made of either one or two letters. Two letters do not appear on the periodic table at all. One of them at least shows up when an element is yet to be named and has a temporary ID. The other letter appears nowhere. What are these two letters?
Answers
1. Graphite
2. Russia
3. Diamond
4. Iodine
5. W from Wolfram
6. Aluminium and Aluminum
7. Krypton
8. Ag from Argentum
9. Radium
10. Q and J
A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion’. @bertyashley
