Q 01/05

Which wall-climbing lizards cannot stick to Teflon, the fluorine-based plastic that defeats their grip?

A) Anoles

B) Skinks

C) Geckos

D) Chameleons

Answer · why

C) Geckos

Geckos grip walls using weak van der Waals forces, and Teflon's tightly held fluorine atoms resist those forces so well that a gecko's feet simply sli...

Q 02/05

In which TV drama does hydrofluoric acid, a fluorine compound, dissolve a body and then a bathtub?

A) The Sopranos

B) Dexter

C) The Wire

D) Breaking Bad

Answer · why

D) Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad's second episode has Jesse skip the plastic bin Walt asked for, so the acid dissolves the tub as well and the ceiling below it collapses.

Q 03/05

Hydrofluoric acid, a fluorine compound classed as a weak acid, famously dissolves which material?

A) Lead

B) Glass

C) Teflon

D) Gold

Answer · why

B) Glass

Glass is mostly silica, which the acid converts into fluorine compounds that drift or wash away, so the acid has to be bottled in plastic instead.

Q 04/05

Which sea predators have teeth of fluorapatite, the fluorine mineral that fluoride builds on human teeth?

A) Sharks

B) Orcas

C) Walruses

D) Sea lions

Answer · why

A) Sharks

Sharks build the outer layer of every tooth from fluorapatite, a mineral that resists acid attack far better than the one in untreated human teeth.

Q 05/05

The French chemist who first isolated fluorine also used an electric furnace to try making which gems?

A) Rubies

B) Diamonds

C) Sapphires

D) Emeralds

Answer · why

B) Diamonds

Diamonds were his target in the electric arc furnace he helped develop, and he also found a new mineral in fragments of an Arizona meteorite.