Trivia Why's: Chemical States - Random Trivia Answers

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Chemical States - Random Trivia Answers

A1) Mendelevium (Md = Maryland). The element was first synthesized in 1955 and used the symbol Mv until IUPAC assigned it Md in 1963.
A2) Neodymium (Nd = North Dakota). Many toys now use very small neodymium magnets to connect pieces. Larger neodymium magnets are sold with warnings to keep them away from computer equipment, storage devices, and pacemakers, and they are powerful enough to break fingers.
A3) Calcium (Ca = California). At 1.5% of the mass, only oxygen (65%), carbon (18%), hydrogen (10%), and nitrogen (3%) make up more of the body. Note that Californium's symbol is Cf.
A4) Cobalt (Co = Colorado). The element was given the German name "Kobalt" because miners blamed the goblins for the presence of cobalt in their silver ore.
A5) Gallium (Ga = Georgia). The Latin name for France was Gaul, and many a Latin student knows that Julius Caesar observed, "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres" ("all of Gaul is divided into three parts").
A6) Manganese (Mn = Minnesota). Steelmaking now accounts for most (85-90%) of manganese's use.
A7) Argon (Ar = Arkansas). After nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%), argon (0.93%) is almost 25 times as prevalent as carbon dioxide (0.038%).
A8) Indium (In = Indiana). The poor metal is so slightly radioactive that it is considered safe. Half of a quantity of indium will decay to tin in a staggering 441 trillion years.
A9) Lanthanum (La = Louisiana). Because it is highly reactive, lanthanum has a wide variety of uses, from lenses to steel to lighter flints.
A10) Scandium (Sc = South Carolina). The main ores are in Scandanavia and Madagascar, but scandium is not widely used.
A11) Neon (Ne = Nebraska). Neon tubes uses electricity to excite the atoms of the noble gas to produce light.
A12) Meitnerium (Mt = Montana). The German scientists who first synthesized the transition metal named it for the female Austrian and Swedish physicist Lise Meitner.