The Noble Gases Trivia Quiz

Answer: They are inert, and do not easily form chemical compounds.

Of course! Noble gases are defined by their inertness, that is, their property of not being readily changed by chemical or biological reactions. The word 'noble' itself signifies being chemically inactive and is even attributed to a set of non-reactive metals, called 'noble metals', which include gold, silver and platinum.

The gases themselves are inert because they have a full outer shell of electrons, which means that the formation of chemical compounds is very difficult.

Because of this property of inertness, the noble gases are found in their free state in the air, and rarely, if ever, in the form of chemical compounds. In fact, scientists have managed to create compounds only of the 3 heaviest noble gases (radon, xenon and krypton). Radon and xenon react readily with fluorine (a halogen), whereas in the case of krypton, compounds have been produced only with great difficulty. As for the lighter noble gases (helium, neon and argon), the chances of compounds being created are rather dim.

Answer: Sir William Ramsay

Sir William Ramsay (1852-1916) was a British chemist, and was the first to successfully isolate all of the noble gases, except radon. He also discovered 4 of them, namely neon, argon, krypton, and xenon. Pierre Janssen discovered helium in 1868 during a solar eclipse in the spectrum of the corona of the sun. However, Ramsay was the first to isolate it.

Ramsay and the British physicist Lord Raleigh found that nitrogen removed from the atmosphere was denser than nitrogen formed by the decomposition of ammonium nitrate. This led to the discovery of argon in 1894. Helium was discovered by Janssen in 1895. Through the attempts of Ramsay and his assistant Morris Travers, krypton, neon and xenon were found from the atmosphere by fractional distillation.

Radon was discovered by a German chemist, Friedrich Ernst Dorn in 1900.

Answer: All the gases forming them come in a single column, at the rightmost of the Table, and the halogens are located to their left.

When Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleyev announced the Periodic Table in 1869, he had left spaces in his Table where his Periodic Law didn't seem to fit, predicting that new elements would be discovered that would fill the gaps. However he had no idea of the existence of the noble gases, and hadn't left any spaces for a whole new group of elements altogether.

After the discovery of the noble gases in the 1890s, they were added in a separate column to right of the table, and fitted in perfectly. It was after the discovery of the noble gases that the Table had an immediate impact on chemical theory.

Answer: krypton

1,650,763.73 wavelengths of light emitted by the isotope krypton-86 was adopted as the length of the standard metre (or meter) by the International Commission on Weights and Measures in 1960.

However, in 1983, it was redefined as the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.

Answer: crowd control

About balloons and airships, helium is used as a safer alternative to hydrogen in meteorological balloons and airships, because of its inert properties. Until the discovery of the application of helium in balloons, hydrogen was used, and the high rate of combustivity led to explosions. Hence, helium is preferred.

Helium is also used in welding that involves light metals like aluminum and magnesium that would oxidize if exposed to the atmosphere.

Yes, helium is used for the voices of cartoon characters, prominent among them being Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Helium is a light gas, and hence sound waves travel faster through it. As a result, the actor's voice becomes high-pitched when he breathes.

(And no, helium is not used for crowd control or anything like that, and it doesn't seem like a possible application in the near future!)

Answer: radon

Radon is the heaviest of the noble gases, and was discovered due to the decay of radium.

Uranium and radium are naturally present in rock and soil. Radon can get concentrated in unventilated indoor areas built into the soil such as basements. Due to its colourless property, it can't be detected easily. Radon accumulating indoors is a serious health hazard. This is because when radon breaks down, it produces charged particles that become a part of the dust, and are dangerous when inhaled. This hazard is also posed in structures constructed from certain granites.

Radon does have its uses too. Radon-222, the most common isotope, is used in the treatment of malignant tumours.

Answer: 0.93 %

Argon constitutes 0.93 % of the earths atmosphere, which is much more than all the other noble gases put together. Here's the composition of the earth's atmosphere in not too much detail:

Nitrogen - 78.1%
Oxygen - 20.9%
Argon - 0.9%
Carbon dioxide, methane, and other inert gases - 0.1%

Argon was accidentally discovered when scientists were conducting experiments to see why atmospheric nitrogen was heavier than that formed by the decomposition of ammonium nitrate. It was found to be a result of the presence of argon with the nitrogen.

Argon is used in experiments to provide an inert atmosphere. It is also used to fill light bulbs, because it does not react with the tungsten filament even at high temperatures, due to its inertness.

Answer: neon

Neon, when contained in a vacuum tube, lets out a reddish light when electricity is passed through it. A lot of light is produced in relation to the power consumed.

It is used in many attractive and electric flashy signboards and advertising signs. Las Vegas, USA, is famous for its numerous neon lights and signboards. An interesting point to note: the invention of neon lights coincided with the legalization of gambling in Las Vegas in 1932. In 1996, a Neon Museum was opened there, showcasing many old signs featuring this gas.

Answer: xenon

Until 1962, xenon and the other noble gases were thought not to have any compounds. Since then, however, many compounds of xenon including the highly explosive xenon trioxide have been discovered. Like all noble gases, xenon is colourless and odourless.

Answer: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon

Thanks for playing my quiz. Hope it's been enlightening, and fun at the same time!