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Quiz about Elements What They Are Named After

Elements: What They Are Named After Quiz

Here's a short quiz on the origins of the names of elements. Enjoy.

A multiple-choice quiz by almaster. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
almaster

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
222,294

Updated
Feb 05 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
1797

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Theodor Richter, two scientists, were testing zinc ores for thallium in 1863. Instead, they discovered an element, which they named after the indigo line in its atomic spectrum. Which element did they discover?

Answer: (One word)

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Question 2 of 10

2. Apart from gallium, is there another element named after the country, France?

Yes

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which noble gas is named after the Greek Word for laziness or lazy?

Answer: (Jason was a lazy fellow?)

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Question 4 of 10

4. Of the following, who does not have an element named after him/ her? Hint

Marie Curie

Albert Einstein

Enrico Fermi

Richard Feynman

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Question 5 of 10

5. The Latin name for which colour has given caesium its name? Hint

Blue

Yellow

Black

Red

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Question 6 of 10

6. This element was once called glucinium for the sweet taste of its salts. What is it now called? Hint

Beryllium

Glucodium

Boron

Sucrinium

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Question 7 of 10

7. How many elements are named after the Swedish village of Ytterby? Hint

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Question 8 of 10

8. Which element is named after the Greek god of the Sun, because it was first discovered on the Sun?

Answer: (Give either name or chemical symbol)

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Question 9 of 10

9. Magnesium gets its name from the Latin for magnet.

True

False

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which of the following elements is NOT named after a planet (or at least shares the same name as one of them?- think carefully- one of the names is not English!) Hint

hydrogen

neptunium

tellurium

uranium

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Indium

Indium is a very soft, silvery-white metal. Its major application today is as a coating for LCD screens. Heck, you might even be looking at it right now!

2. Apart from gallium, is there another element named after the country, France?

Answer: Yes

Gallium is named after Gaul, which was the old name of France, after which francium is named, when it was discovered by Marguerite Perey.

3. Which noble gas is named after the Greek Word for laziness or lazy?

Answer: Argon

Argon, the gas which is filled in all light bulbs to prevent the tungsten filament from burning out, is named after the Greek word for laziness, 'argos'.

4. Of the following, who does not have an element named after him/ her?

Answer: Richard Feynman

Richard Feynman is the only one among the four NOT to have an element named after him. All the others have radioactive elements named after them; curium, fermium and einsteinium.

5. The Latin name for which colour has given caesium its name?

Answer: Blue

Caesium (or cesium as it is spelled in the USA), is named after the Latin word for "sky blue", caesius. It was also the first element to be discovered spectroscopically.

6. This element was once called glucinium for the sweet taste of its salts. What is it now called?

Answer: Beryllium

Beryllium's name originated from the Greek word, "beryllos," which is the word for the gem, beryl, where beryllium was found. Emerald is probably one of the best known type of beryl.

7. How many elements are named after the Swedish village of Ytterby?

Answer: 4

The elements are, yttrium, ytterbium, erbium and terbium. The elements, all of them rare earths, were first discovered near this Swedish village.

8. Which element is named after the Greek god of the Sun, because it was first discovered on the Sun?

Answer: helium

Helium is named after Helios, the Greek god of the sun. It is a colourless, odourless, inert gas, that is the lightest of the noble gases.
Helium is used in filling balloons, and was exclusively used in airships after the Hindenburg disaster. The US has the world's largest helium reserves under the soil of Texas.
After hydrogen, it is also the most abundant element in the universe.

9. Magnesium gets its name from the Latin for magnet.

Answer: False

Magnesium is named after a Greek town in the province of Thessaly known as Magnesia. It burns brilliantly, with a dazzling white flame in oxygen and is used in flares for this purpose.
It is also amazing fun in a high school laboratory and in the hands of the truly inept, capable of causing SERIOUS damage to a LOT of things...trust me, I know.;)

10. Which of the following elements is NOT named after a planet (or at least shares the same name as one of them?- think carefully- one of the names is not English!)

Answer: hydrogen

Uranium, neptunium, tellurium (after 'tellus' for Earth') and if you forgot, mercury! Plutonium no longer counts, since being demoted to a minor planet.

Hope this quiz was informative and entertaining.

Source: Author almaster

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
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