Scientists Honoured Trivia Quiz

Answer:

The Periodic Table is an arrangement of chemical elements based on their atomic number, electron configuration, and recurring chemical properties. Proposed by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869 and later refined by others, the table organizes elements into rows and columns, grouping those with similar characteristics together.

The rows, known as periods, represent the number of electron shells an atom possesses, while the columns, or groups, categorize elements with similar chemical behaviors. Elements in the same group often share commonalities in their valence electron configurations, leading to comparable chemical reactivity. The table is a fundamental tool in chemistry because it provides a visually appealing framework for understanding the relationships between different elements. It also helps scientists prepare predictions about the properties and behaviors of the different elements.

The different elements that were named after scientists are as follows:

Bohrium is a synthetic element with the symbol Bh and atomic number 107. It is part of the transition metals in Group 7 of the periodic table. Bohrium is a radioactive element that was first synthesized in 1981 and is not found naturally on Earth. Its properties and applications are primarily studied for scientific research purposes, and due to its high radioactivity and short half-life, it has no practical applications outside of the laboratory. It is named after the Danish physicist Niels Bohr who proposed the model of the atom.

Curium is a synthetic element with the symbol Cm and atomic number 96. It is a radioactive transuranium element belonging to the actinide series. Curium was first synthesized in 1944 and is primarily produced in nuclear reactors as a by-product. Its applications are mainly confined to scientific research and the production of other transuranic elements. It is named after Marie and Pierre Curie who pioneered the study of radioactivity.

Einsteinium is a synthetic element with the symbol Es and atomic number 99. Named after German-American physicist Albert Einstein, the father of relativity, it is a radioactive metal and a member of the actinide series. Einsteinium is primarily produced in nuclear reactors and has limited practical applications due to its short half-life and scarcity. One of its isotopes has a half-life of 471 days, while others are as short as minutes.

Fermium is a synthetic element with the symbol Fm and atomic number 100. It belongs to the actinide series and was first synthesized in 1952 during nuclear testing. Fermium is a radioactive element with a very short half-life (from 100 days to only minutes for different isotopes) and is typically produced in small quantities. It was named for Italian physicist Enrico Fermi who did extensive work on beta decay leading to the construction of the atomic bomb.

Lawrencium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Lr and atomic number 103. It belongs to the actinide series and it is a highly radioactive element that has no practical applications. It is primarily studied for research purposes in nuclear physics and chemistry to expand our understanding of heavy elements and their properties. It was named for American physicist Ernest Lawrence who invented the cyclotron, and who also gave the name for the lab in which the element was discovered.

Oganesson is a synthetic element with the symbol Og and atomic number 118. It is a member of the noble gases group on the periodic table and, when first synthesized in 2002, was the heaviest element known. Oganesson is a superheavy element and is highly unstable. Its most stable isotope, oganesson-294, has a very short half-life, measured in milliseconds. In 2016, the element was named after Russian physicist Yuri Oganessian in recognition of his contributions to the discovery of superheavy elements.

Roentgenium is a synthetic element with the symbol Rg and atomic number 111. Named in honor of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the discoverer of X-rays, it is another highly unstable and radioactive element with a half life measured from 2.1 minutes to a few microseconds depending on the isotope. Roentgenium belongs to the noble metals group and is part of the extended periodic table.

Rutherfordium is a synthetic element with the symbol Rf and atomic number 104. As a highly unstable and radioactive element (a half-life ranging from 1.3 hours to a few milliseconds), there are no real applications for it. It was named for New Zealander physicist Ernest Rutherford whose gold foil experiment is taught in high schools around the world.

Seaborgium is a synthetic element with the symbol Sg and atomic number 106. It is a highly unstable and radioactive element produced in laboratories for research purposes. Seaborgium belongs to the actinide series and is part of the extended periodic table. Due to its short half-life of about two minutes, its applications are limited to fundamental studies of heavy elements. It was named for the American chemist Glenn T. Seaborg whose work helped pave the way for the investigations of transuranic elements.

Copernicium is a synthetic element with the symbol Cn and atomic number 112. It was first synthesized in 1996 by a German research team but it is a highly unstable and radioactive element with a half-life of only 29 seconds. It's name honours astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus who reintroduced the heliocentric model of the Solar System.

Meitnerium is a synthetic element with the symbol Mt and atomic number 109. It belongs to the transition metals and is part of the extended periodic table. Due to its short half-life, applications for meitnerium are limited to fundamental studies in nuclear physics. It was named for Austrian-Swedish physicist Lise Meitner who worked on nuclear fission.

Mendelevium is a synthetic element with the symbol Md and atomic number 101. It belongs to the actinide series and has no practical applications due to its short half-life of about 51 days for its most stable isotope. It was named for Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev who I already discussed.

Nobelium is a synthetic element with the symbol No and atomic number 102. It was first synthesized in 1966 and is highly radioactive. It has a half-life of 58 minutes for its most studied isotope. Other isotopes are significantly more unstable. It was named for Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel who invented dynamite and later founded the Nobel Prize.

Flerovium has the chemical symbol Fl and the atomic number 114. It was synthesized in a joint Russian-American collaboration at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, and at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA. It has a half-life on the order of fractions of a second. The element was officially named in honor of Georgy Flyorov, the Russian physicist who founded the JINR.