Identify the Element! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tungsten

Tungsten is the seventy-fourth element appearing on the table. A transition metal, tungsten is given the letter 'W' on the table, signifying 'Wolfram', its alternate name. Tungsten, the original name, was given upon its isolation in the late eighteenth century. Naturally occurring in parts of Europe and Asia, tungsten is found in large chunks but, when broken down, becomes malleable, even when in small pieces; this makes them ideal for light bulb filament. Due to a significantly high melting point, it makes for the perfect light source when electrified. Carbon is the only element with a higher melting point.

Answer: Neon

Neon is best known for its uses in lighting; neon lights are particularly noticeable considering they can be created in many shapes, designs, and colours (depending on the use of other gases). Found at number ten on the periodic table, neon is the second noble gas after helium. Since it can not form compounds as a noble gas, it can not be liquid or solid.

It's also used in televisions and vacuums.

Answer: Arsenic

Combined with lead in the forming of certain bullets, arsenic is deadly no matter which way you cut it. In fact, arsenic occasionally appears naturally in certain water sources making it very dangerous to drink. In the Atacama Desert of Chile, for example, the only way to drink the water is if you've lived there for years and developed a tolerance. Due to its toxicity, its industrial uses have been on the way out for years-- it's also been used as a pest killer.

Arsenic is number 33 on the table. A unique metalloid, it can convert from solid to gas immediately (when heated). Avoid at all costs!

Answer: Magnesium

With the symbol Mg, magnesium is a pretty important element not only for the planet but for the human body. Magnesium is required for people to function and healthy consumption of it contributes to better cardiac and bone health; you can find it in a number of foods from nuts to green vegetables.

Magnesium is also found in its solid metal form. As a metal it's used to craft most products we use on a daily basis that contain aluminum (as an alloy). It's also used to create titanium. Funnily enough, pure magnesium is quite the reactive element-- it reacts differently to water, fire, acids, etc. Lighting a magnesium ribbon on fire is usually a hit with high school science classes. It appears in position 12 on the periodic table.

Answer: Sulphur

Sulphur (also spelled sulfur) is also known as brimstone and it appears in position number 16 on the table. Yellow at room temperature, sulphur appears naturally in the earth in solid form and, as such, is mined for industrial use, particularly oil refining, fertilizers, and oddly enough, pesticides/herbicides. This doesn't mean it's all bad-- sulphur is needed for the body to make use of its amino acids.

It's when sulphur appears in compounds that it ends up becoming an issue. Sulphuric acid is dangerous when it comes into contact with human skin (causing severe burns) while hydrogen sulphide, which smells like rotten eggs (as bad things are wont to do), is a poisonous gas. Sulphur also appears in compounds found in penicillin, garlic, and acid rain.

Answer: Potassium

Number 19 on the periodic table, potassium was originally given the name 'kalium' as a reference to its place on early periodic tables as an 'alkali' metal; it was later renamed potassium since it was derived from potash. It appears under sodium.

Appearing naturally as a solid, high school students may remember experiments in which you can drop a small bit of water on pure potassium to watch it react violently. Funnily enough, it's an important element in our diets-- you can find it in bananas, potatoes, tomatoes, and other organic foods. It's very common in the body and is integral to brain function.

Answer: Cobalt

Although cobalt combines with several other elements to create different alloys (and in different colours), it's always been associated with a strong blue pigment, lighter than a navy or ultramarine, used in glassmaking. Although cobalt is rarely found on its own in the Earth's surface, it is often seen with other transition metals preceding it on the periodic table. At number 27 it's followed by nickel and copper-- two such elements.

The name cobalt is derived from the word 'kobold', referring to an implike creature of mythology. Nowadays it's still used in dyes and pigments, but it's also used in battery production.

Answer: Mercury

Only two elements are liquids at room temperature-- mercury and bromine. Mercury appears a lot later on the list. A transition metal, it's been utilized in many different ways over the years. Unfortunately, it's never been a safe option. While mercury has been used in thermometers, lamps, and dental amalgam for decades and decades, it is in fact very toxic. Oddly enough, for many years, mercury was handled by students in high school classrooms.

Many countries ban its use completely or, otherwise, have strict policies and regulations regarding its handling.

Despite this, mercury can be found in slightly-more-than-trace amounts in seafood. It appears with the symbol Hg, a memento of another former name: hydrargyrum.

Answer: Iodine

One of the lowest halogens on the table, iodine is particularly important because of its radioisotopes used in the production of specialized medicine. In addition to this, iodine is an important part of one's diet. Most get their source of iodine from (iodized) table salt; deficiencies are more common in third-world countries, but this can vary depending on typical eating habits.

In its solid form, iodine is a silvery-grey; in a gas, it's a deep purple. It appears on the table under the letter I.

Answer: Carbon

Carbon is certainly a unique element. Represented by a C early on in the periodic table, it's a naturally-occurring part of the Earth. In its clearest, hardest form, carbon can form diamonds, one of the most sought-after precious stones. In its less-dense, black-grey form, it's graphite, a substance used as pencil lead. Both forms are so vastly different, you'd think they weren't made from the same substance.

Carbon is found in every living thing on the planet and combines with hydrogen to form every type of fuel on the planet as well. Carbon is necessary for creating the sugars our bodies need to function. Without it, we would not be here. Do not eat diamonds or graphite though. That'd be bad news.