The Hidden Element Trivia Quiz

Answer: Phosphorus

Hennig Brand (1630-1692/1710) accidentally discovered phosphorus while trying to find the Philosopher's Stone, which was said to turn lead and other elements into gold. He had heated and boiled down urine and named the substance he discovered phosphorus or "light-bearer". Phosphorus has the atomic number 15 and the chemical symbol P. An important use of phosphorus today is in agricultural fertilizers.

Answer: Nickel

Nickel was discovered by chemist Axel Frederik Cronstedt (1722-1765) in 1751. Nickel has the chemical symbol Ni and the atomic number 28. Beginning in the mid-1800s, nickel was be used as a component of an increasing number of world coins. The US five-cent piece is commonly known as a "nickel" because of the presence of this metal in its composition.

The metal described as fake copper today is known as nickeline or niccolite and is about 44% nickel and 56% arsenic.

Answer: Oxygen

Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) observed it in 1774 while Carl William Scheele (1742-1786) saw it in 1773. Priestly, however, published his discovery first. Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) observed it in 1778 and named it oxygen and used it to disprove the phlogiston theory. Previous to this point, chemists speculated that things which burned contained a fire-like substance called phlogiston. Lavoisier, however, realized, that fire was fueled by oxygen. Oxygen has the chemical symbol O and the atomic number 8.

Answer: Palladium

William Hyde Wollaston (1766-1828) both observed and isolated palladium in 1802. Palladium has the chemical symbol Pd and the atomic number 46. Wollaston had intended to name the element after the newly discovered asteroid Ceres, but by the time he published another element had already been named cerium. Palladium was named after Pallas, the second asteroid discovered.

The name Pallas is sometimes associated with Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom. An important use of palladium is in catalytic converters.

Answer: Beryllium

In addition to potassium, sodium, and calcium, Humphry Davy (1778-1829) was also the first person to isolate strontium and boron. Louis Nicolas Vauquelin (1763-1829) first observed beryllium in 1798 and Friedrich Woller (1800-1882) and Antoine Bussy (1794-1882) isolated the element independently in 1828. Beryllium has the atomic number 4 and the chemical symbol Be.

Some beryllium is used in aircraft and spacecraft components. It was first observed in beryl, whence it got its name.

Answer: Silicon

Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848) observed and isolated silicon in 1823. Humphry Davy named silicon in 1800 when he thought it was a compound. Berzelius was the first to isolate pure silicon. Silicon has the atomic number 14 and the chemical symbol Si. Silicon has a melting point of 3265 degrees Fahrenheit. Silicon is a vital ingredient in transistors and integrated circuit chips, beginning in the 1950s.

Answer: Aluminum

Hans Christen Oersted (1777-1851) observed and isolated aluminum in 1825. This is another element that, though not isolated by Humphry Davy, would be named by him. Aluminum has the atomic number 13 and the chemical symbol Al. Bauxite is a type of sedimentary rock that contains aluminum mixed with various other elements. Compared to many other metals, aluminum is relatively soft and light.

Answer: Gallium

Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838-1912) observed and isolated gallium in 1875, six years after Mendeleev formally presented his Periodic Table. Gallium has the chemical symbol Ga and the atomic number 31. The melting point of gallium is about 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

Therefore, a lump of gallium will remain solid at room temperature but melt if held for a period of time in a person's hand.

Answer: Argon

Morris Travers (1871-1962) and William Ramsay (1852-1916) isolated the other three gasses within a few weeks of each other. Argon was isolated in 1894 by John Strutt (Lord Rayleigh, 1842-1916) working with Ramsay. Argon, with the chemical symbol Ar and the atomic number 18, is also a noble gas. Compared to other elements, noble gasses tend to have very low chemical reactivity. One of the modern uses of argon is in welding.

The other three gasses were each isolated from liquid argon due to differences in boiling points.

Answer: Radium

Radium was isolated by the husband and wife team of Pierre Curie (1859-1906) and Marie Skłodowska Curie (1867-1934). Radium has the atomic number 88 and the chemical symbol Ra. Though the radium in pitchblende is highly radioactive, it occurs in relatively low frequency.

The Curies had to search through tons (literally) of the material to accumulate a single gram of radium. Pitchblende is today known as Uraninite and is largely made of uranium dioxide. The radium in the substance occurs as the uranium radioactively decays.