Q 01/05

Terbium, erbium and ytterbium are all named after Ytterby, a quarry village in which country?

A) Norway

B) Sweden

C) Denmark

D) Germany

Answer · why

B) Sweden

Sweden's Ytterby holds a naming record: yttrium is called after the same village, so one small place appears four times on the periodic table.

Q 02/05

Neodymium is alloyed with iron and boron to make the strongest commercial type of which component in headphones?

A) Magnets

B) Batteries

C) Microchips

D) Springs

Answer · why

A) Magnets

Magnets made of neodymium, iron and boron were developed independently in 1984 by General Motors and Sumitomo, and now sit inside hard drives and cord...

Q 03/05

Europium transformed colour television in the 1960s by supplying an efficient, vivid phosphor for which colour?

A) Blue

B) Green

C) Yellow

D) Red

Answer · why

D) Red

Red europium phosphors lit up cathode-ray screens from the 1960s. The same glow appears on euro banknotes under ultraviolet light, as a check against ...

Q 04/05

Promethium is named after Prometheus, the Titan of Greek mythology who stole what from Mount Olympus?

A) Wine

B) Honey

C) Fire

D) Wheat

Answer · why

C) Fire

Fire was a pointed choice for an element born in a nuclear reactor: the name was meant to symbolise both the daring and the possible misuse of human i...

Q 05/05

Ferrocerium, a cerium alloy that showers sparks when scraped, is the so-called flint in which everyday objects?

A) Lighters

B) Spark plugs

C) Matches

D) Flashlights

Answer · why

A) Lighters

Lighters use a man-made 'flint' that works backwards: real flint is a rock that strikes sparks off steel, while ferrocerium is itself scraped away by ...