Capital States, Elementally Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aluminium

Aluminium (aluminum, in American English) is the Earth's most common metal and has the chemical symbol Al. Montgomery is the state capital of Alabama, abbreviated to AL. Montgomery takes its name after Richard Montgomery, a soldier best known perhaps for leading the failed invasion of Canada in 1775 during the American War of Independence.

Answer: Cobalt

Denver, Colorado (CO) is paired with cobalt (Co), a ferromagnetic metal which is normally a by-product of nickel and copper mining operations. The city was named after a Territorial Governor by a land speculator hoping to curry favour with him. Unbeknownst to him, the Governor had already stepped down from office.

It was originally named Denver City and was shortened to Denver on becoming the Territorial Capital.

Answer: Neodymium

Neodymium (Nd) is classified as a rare earth metal and one of its alloys makes the strongest permanent magnets known.

Bismarck, North Dakota (ND) was named Edwinton when founded in 1872 by the Northern Pacific Railway when the railway reached the eastern banks of the Missouri. Less than a year later, in the hopes of attracting German immigrants, the railway changed its name to Bismarck after Germany's Otto von Bismarck. The discovery of gold in 1874 was the main driver for its expansion.

Answer: Mendelevium

This Maryland (MD) settlement on the south shore of the Severn river was renamed Annapolis after the Danish and Norwegian princess who was to become Queen of Great Britain in 1707. The chemical element mendelevium (chemical symbol Md) is a synthetic element first created in 1955 by bombarding the element einsteinium with alpha particles.

Answer: Scandium

Columbia is a poetic name for America. One story traces its first usage to the weekly publication of debates of the British Parliament during the 18th century. At that time it was technically illegal to publish such reports and fictitious names were substituted for most individuals and places - for example, Iberia for Spain and Noveborac for New York (Eboracum was the Roman name for York in the UK). Columbia used the name of explorer Christopher Columbus. Columbia became state capital of South Carolina (SC) in 1786.

Scandium (symbol Sc) is a metallic element mainly used in improving the properties of aluminium alloys in the aerospace industry.

Answer: Gallium

Created as a terminus for the Western and Atlantic Railway, names such as Terminus, Thrasherville and Marthasville gave way to Atlanta, which was adopted in 1847. This was a contraction of Atlantica-Pacifica, which had been suggested by the Georgia Railway's Chief Engineer.

Gallium (symbol Ga), a soft silvery metal, is mainly used in the electronics industry.

Answer: Manganese

After becoming capital of the Minnesota (abbreviated to MN) Territory in 1849, an attempt in 1857 was made to move the capital to Saint Peter. This was approved by the legislature but prevented from coming into force when a legislator took the document with him to a local hotel where he drank and played cards with friends until the legislative session was over and it was too late for it to be signed into law by the Governor. And so Saint Paul remained the capital. It appears that the Governor would have benefitted financially if the capital had moved to Saint Peter.

Manganese (symbol Mn) is another metal, with important uses in alloys such as stainless steel.

Answer: Proactinium

The city's name was given to it by John Harris, Jr who laid plans for the town in 1785 on land owned by his trader father John Harris, Snr. The lands were formally surveyed by his brother-in-law. It became state capital of Pennsylvania (PA) in 1812. Its strategic location gave it importance.

Proactinium or protoactinium (chemical symbol Pa) is a rare, naturally-occurring, highly-radioactive and toxic metal with few, if any, uses outside of a research laboratory.

Answer: Lanthanum

This Louisiana (LA) city takes its name from the red pole used to mark the boundary between the hunting lands of the Houma and Bayogoula tribes. This was discovered during an exploratory trip by French explorer Sieur d'Iberville up the Mississippi river during 1699. 'Le bāton rouge' is French for 'the red stick'.

Lanthanum (symbol La) is another metal and is most common found nickle-metal hydride (NMH) batteries. A typical hybrid electric car using such batteries, such as the Toyota Prius, can have in excess of 10 kg of lanthanum in each vehicle.

Answer: Calcium

The city in California (CA) is located at the confluence of the Sacramento and the American rivers, and takes its name from the former. The river was named by a Spanish cavalry officer and explorer Gabriel Moroga. He was referring to the Catholic Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Calcium (symbol Ca) will be an element familiar to many. Another metal, it is essential to living organisms and can be found in teeth and bones, for example.