Q 01/05

Lanthanum's name comes from an ancient Greek word with which meaning?

A) To shine brightly

B) To lie hidden

C) To burn slowly

D) To stand alone

Answer · why

B) To lie hidden

To lie hidden fits: lanthanum sat unnoticed for decades inside a mineral that chemists believed held only one new element.

Q 02/05

The 2008 model of which hybrid car carried 10 to 15 kilograms of lanthanum in its rechargeable battery pack?

A) Honda Insight

B) Ford Escape Hybrid

C) Chevrolet Volt

D) Toyota Prius

Answer · why

D) Toyota Prius

Toyota Prius batteries store their charge in a lanthanum-rich alloy, usually a cheap blend with other rare earths in place of the pure metal.

Q 03/05

RaLa, short for radioactive lanthanum, was a series of implosion tests begun during which secret wartime program?

A) Manhattan Project

B) Operation Paperclip

C) Project Habakkuk

D) Tube Alloys

Answer · why

A) Manhattan Project

Manhattan Project scientists used the blasts to perfect the implosion that squeezes a plutonium bomb's core; a history of the work called RaLa the mos...

Q 04/05

The parent isotope that steadily produced radioactive lanthanum for RaLa tests was nicknamed after which farm animal?

A) A hen

B) A goose

C) A cow

D) A sheep

Answer · why

C) A cow

A cow was the nickname because fresh radioactive lanthanum could be 'milked' from it again and again as the parent isotope decayed.

Q 05/05

Mischmetal, an alloy that is roughly a quarter lanthanum, is best known as a key ingredient of which pocket item?

A) Cigarette lighters

B) Self-winding watches

C) Mechanical pencils

D) Pocket flashlights

Answer · why

A) Cigarette lighters

Cigarette lighters strike their sparks from a 'flint' that is really mischmetal hardened with iron and magnesium oxides.