Science Year launch
quiz head

The word Chemistry has been in the Oxford English Dictionary for a nice round 400 years this year, worth a celebration, definitionitively!

Also, as it’s the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Chemistry Week at the beginning of November, we thought we’d chip in with this elementary quiz.  If you’re worried that you don’t know your Arsenic (As) from your Aluminium (Al) just read the questions carefully and we reckon you’ll be Sortedium (Ok!).

The RSC have coughed up three ‘Tungsten’ T’s, + RSC goodies + copies of Bill Bryson’s ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ as prizes, BIG thanks to them, and do check out Chemistry Week, there’s lots going on

(U)  (Re)(Dy)?   (Gd)! 

(O)(F)(F)   (U)    (Co)!

(Cm)  (Bk)  (Sn)   (Th)(O)…


01

What is the main element found in the Sun?

Hydrogen

Sunnium

Shinium
Reveal Answer


02

What chemical element’s name comes from the Greek ‘bromos’, meaning stench, because it smells so bad?

Chlorine

Bromine

Nitrogen

Reveal Answer


03

Which of these elements was NOT known to the ancient world?

Iron

Copper

Oxygen
Reveal Answer


04

There is about 70 million tonnes of gold in the sea.  How is it extracted?

Filtration – pumping the water through massive sieves.

Evaporation – the water is boiled off and the gold remains.

It isn’t extracted – all methods are more expensive than the gold extracted
Reveal Answer


05

The discovery of which two elements was first announced on a children’s quiz show in 1945?

Americium and Curium

Sodium and Chlorine

Oxygen and Nitrogen
Reveal Answer


06

Electrum is an alloy (a mix of two metals) of gold and what other metal?

Helium

Silver

Hydrogen
Reveal Answer


07

Why was the possibly non-existent element Ununoctium, removed from the periodic table?

It had a silly name that no one could pronounce

No one else could repeat the experiment to produce it

The scientists who discovered it wanted to keep it a secret
Reveal Answer


08

Which cow based food is highest in the mineral copper?

Calves liver

Bacon

Salmon
Reveal Answer


09

Iodine deficiency in a diet can cause what in the sufferers?

A lower IQ level

Flat feet

Overly bushy eyebrows
Reveal Answer


10

Which of these elements was NOT discovered by the American, based at Berkley University in California, Glen Seaborg?

Berkelium

Californium

Europium
Reveal Answer


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