Settling for Silver Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ag

Before silver was silver, silver was argentum, a Latin word that evolved from the Greek for "shining". As S and Si are already taken by sulfur and silicon, respectively, and argon has Ar, silver has Ag. Au is the symbol for gold, similarly taken from its Latin name, aurum, meaning "glowing" (or thereabouts).

Answer: 3000 B.C.E. or earlier

Silver has been known to man for a long time - at least since 3000 B.C.E. as evidence from ancient silver mines in Greece and Turkey has shown. Gold, copper, and silver are considered to be the first metals discovered by ancient people since they occur naturally in a pure state but, while silver occurs as a free metal, it is often found in ore, and the Ancient Greeks knew how to refine silver to separate it from lead.

Besides jewellery and coins, silver was also used for medicinal purposes in ancient times, with Hippocrates writing about the healing properties of silver back in 400 B.C.E.

Answer: Transition metal

Transition metals occupy the central portion of the periodic table, in groups 3 to 12 (disregarding the lanthanides and actinides that occasionally get smushed in and some of the more recently discovered, relatively speaking of course, synthetic elements). Silver is found below copper and above gold, leading some to designate them as "coin metals", due to their frequent use in the production of currency.

Answer: Electrum

Very rarely will you actually find electrum that contains purely gold and silver - little bits of other elements will try and sneak in there, like copper or platinum. Electrum differs in colour based on how much gold and silver is in it. Obviously, if it's more white/silvery with a hint of yellow, chances are it's got a higher proportion of silver. If someone gives you something made of "green gold", then that right there is electrum.

It's often used these days in the production of the Nobel medals.

Although they look shiny and 100% golden, they're actually made of electrum with a layer of gold plating on the top.

Answer: 47

A silver atom consists of 47 protons and 47 electrons, giving it an atomic number of 47. It has either 60 or 62 neutrons (depending on the isotope) and an atomic mass of 107.868l. The famous Kalashnikov rifle is an AK-47, and the forty-seven ronin were the legendary group of leaderless samurai.

Answer: Best conductor of heat and electricity

Pure silver is a better conductor of electricity than copper, but copper is cheaper so it is used more frequently for that purpose. Gold comes in third in the list of metal conductivity. Silver also can tarnish, which makes it less suitable when skin effect (the tendency of a current to flow near the outer surface or layer of a conductor) is a concern.

Answer: Inhibiting the growth of bacteria

Silver ions have wonderful antibacterial properties and so are useful additions to products where growth is likely. Antiperspirants, in particular, include a smattering of silver ions designed for a spot of minor odour absorption in addition to preventing a bacterial breakout. Silver in water filters helps to cleanse the water and is a common addition to drinking water supplies and pools (where it can be used as a safer alternative to chlorine).

Answer: To help them visualise proteins

Proteins that are to be analysed in a biology lab will usually be present at such low amounts that they are invisible. After running a protein sample on what is called a PAGE gel (which separates the proteins in your mixture based on their mass), staining techniques can be used to visualise them. Perhaps the most common is "coomassie staining" which uses a dye that sticks to proteins on the gel and turns them blue. Silver staining works by silver atoms binding to proteins, which can then be "developed", similar to photographs, to make them visible. Silver staining is even more sensitive than coomassie staining and can detect a protein even if there is less than 1 nanogram (one billionth of a gram) present.

Answer: Ethylene oxide

Oxidation of ethylene is facilitated by a silver catalyst, allowing large quantities of this organic compound to be produced. Liquid ethylene oxide can polymerise to form polyethylene glycols (PEGs), plastics with an enormous variety of uses. Another precious metal, platinum, is commonly used in the catalytic converters of automobiles, which help to reduce the emission of toxic gases.

Answer: Father of neuroscience

Cajal used a silver staining technique called the Golgi method, as it was developed by Camillo Golgi (after whom the Golgi body/apparatus is named). Cajal used it to look at cell structure, specifically neuronal cell structure. Working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Cajal recorded his microscopic observations of nerve cells as beautiful hand-drawings that are still used by students today.