Q 01/05

Which element was seen in the Sun's spectrum in 1868, decades before being found on Earth?

A) Argon

B) Neon

C) Rubidium

D) Helium

Answer · why

D) Helium

The bright yellow line at 587.49 nm was first taken for sodium; Norman Lockyer named the element for the Greek sun god.

Q 02/05

In 2007, dehydrated tardigrades survived ten days exposed to what on the FOTON-M3 mission?

A) Liquid nitrogen

B) A nuclear reactor core

C) Molten sulfur

D) The vacuum of space

Answer · why

D) The vacuum of space

Some even survived the full range of solar ultraviolet, and back on Earth they rehydrated, moved and laid viable eggs.

Q 03/05

Which two different sciences did the same woman win Nobel Prizes in, a feat no one else has matched?

A) Chemistry and Medicine

B) Physics and Chemistry

C) Physics and Medicine

D) Chemistry and Economics

Answer · why

B) Physics and Chemistry

She shared the 1903 physics prize with Pierre and Becquerel, and took the 1911 chemistry prize alone; the family went on to collect five Nobels.

Q 04/05

Which pioneering scientist named the first element she discovered after her homeland, Poland?

A) Lise Meitner

B) Ida Noddack

C) Marie Curie

D) Marguerite Perey

Answer · why

C) Marie Curie

Polonium honoured Poland; radium followed. Perey, a Curie student, later named francium for France.

Q 05/05

Which is the densest stable element, about twice as dense as lead?

A) Osmium

B) Iridium

C) Platinum

D) Tungsten

Answer · why

A) Osmium

It edges out iridium so narrowly (22.587 vs 22.562 g/cm3) that only 1990s X-ray crystallography settled the contest.