Element Symbols & Etymology

29 questions · Answers revealed below each question · Print this set

1. 1.Which noble gas is named "xenos", the stranger?

   • A. Neon
   • B. Krypton
   • C. Radon
   • D. Xenon
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   Xenon

   Did you know? Xenon means "stranger" in Greek, the rare one of air.

2. 2.Which element honors the physicist Enrico Fermi?

   • A. Fermium
   • B. Bohrium
   • C. Einsteinium
   • D. Rutherfordium
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   Fermium

   Did you know? Fermium (Fm) is named for Enrico Fermi, builder of the first nuclear reactor.

3. 3.Which radioactive metal found in 1939 is named after France, by discoverer Marguerite Perey?

   • A. Gallium
   • B. Rhenium
   • C. Francium
   • D. Ruthenium
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   Francium

   Did you know? Francium, the last natural element discovered, honors France.

4. 4.Which element's symbol Hg comes from "hydrargyrum", Greek-Latin for water-silver?

   • A. Mercury
   • B. Magnesium
   • C. Silver
   • D. Manganese
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   Mercury

   Did you know? Mercury's Hg, from hydrargyrum, literally means "water-silver".

5. 5.Which alkali metal is named "rubidus", deep red, for its spectral color?

   • A. Thallium
   • B. Cesium
   • C. Rubidium
   • D. Strontium
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   Rubidium

   Did you know? Rubidium is named for the deep red line in its spectrum.

6. 6.Which metal is named for the Scandinavian fertility goddess Vanadis?

   • A. Scandium
   • B. Niobium
   • C. Vanadium
   • D. Cobalt
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   Vanadium

   Did you know? Vanadium is named for Vanadis, an epithet of the Norse goddess Freyja.

7. 7.Which element is named after the Moscow region, site of the JINR laboratory?

   • A. Dubnium
   • B. Ruthenium
   • C. Moscovium
   • D. Oganesson
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   Moscovium

   Did you know? Moscovium honors Moscow Oblast, home of the JINR lab.

8. 8.Which element's symbol Sb comes from the Latin "stibium"?

   • A. Antimony
   • B. Selenium
   • C. Barium
   • D. Tin
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   Antimony

   Did you know? Antimony's Sb comes from stibium, the ancient name of its eye-cosmetic ore.

9. 9.Which element, number 118, is named after the Armenian-Russian physicist Yuri Oganessian?

   • A. Flerovium
   • B. Moscovium
   • C. Oganesson
   • D. Copernicium
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   Oganesson

   Did you know? Oganesson (Og), the heaviest named element, honors physicist Yuri Oganessian.

10. 10.Which alkaline-earth metal is named after the Scottish village of Strontian?

    • A. Strontium
    • B. Radium
    • C. Barium
    • D. Calcium
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    Strontium

    Did you know? Strontium honors Strontian, the Scottish village where its ore was mined.

11. 11.Which element's name comes from the Latin word for earth, tellus?

    • A. Selenium
    • B. Tellurium
    • C. Terbium
    • D. Thulium
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    Tellurium

    Did you know? Tellurium was named from tellus, the Latin word for the earth.

12. 12.Which metal is named after the river Rhine?

    • A. Ruthenium
    • B. Rhenium
    • C. Francium
    • D. Hafnium
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    Rhenium

    Did you know? Rhenium (1925) takes its name from the Rhine, Europe's great river.

13. 13.Which element is named after the asteroid Pallas, discovered in 1802?

    • A. Platinum
    • B. Rhodium
    • C. Palladium
    • D. Cerium
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    Palladium

    Did you know? Palladium, found in 1803, honors the asteroid Pallas.

14. 14.Which element is named after the Latin word for Russia, Ruthenia?

    • A. Ruthenium
    • B. Moscovium
    • C. Polonium
    • D. Rhenium
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    Ruthenium

    Did you know? Ruthenium honors Ruthenia, the Latin name for Russia.

15. 15.Which element is named after the asteroid Ceres, itself found two years earlier?

    • A. Tellurium
    • B. Cerium
    • C. Selenium
    • D. Palladium
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    Cerium

    Did you know? Cerium (1803) was named for the newly discovered asteroid Ceres.

16. 16.Which rare-earth element, also named for Ytterby, carries the village's full name in its longest form?

    • A. Ytterbium
    • B. Erbium
    • C. Terbium
    • D. Yttrium
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    Ytterbium

    Did you know? Ytterbium carries the full name of Ytterby village in its own.

17. 17.Which element honors Lise Meitner, the physicist who explained nuclear fission?

    • A. Curium
    • B. Rutherfordium
    • C. Meitnerium
    • D. Bohrium
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    Meitnerium

    Did you know? Meitnerium (Mt) is named for Lise Meitner, co-explainer of fission.

18. 18.Which rare-earth element keeps the middle syllable of Ytterby in its very name?

    • A. Erbium
    • B. Terbium
    • C. Holmium
    • D. Yttrium
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    Terbium

    Did you know? Terbium is Ytterby's name split apart, honoring the same quarry village.

19. 19.Which element is the only one officially named after a living person at the time, chemist Glenn Seaborg?

    • A. Nobelium
    • B. Californium
    • C. Seaborgium
    • D. Rutherfordium
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    Seaborgium

    Did you know? Seaborgium (Sg) was named for Glenn Seaborg while he was still alive.

20. 20.Which transition metal is named after Copenhagen's Latin name, Hafnia?

    • A. Thulium
    • B. Scandium
    • C. Hafnium
    • D. Rhenium
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    Hafnium

    Did you know? Hafnium (1923) honors Hafnia, the Latin name of Copenhagen.

21. 21.Which metal was discovered by its indigo-blue spectral line alone?

    • A. Gallium
    • B. Indium
    • C. Cesium
    • D. Thallium
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    Indium

    Did you know? Indium is named for the indigo line that revealed it in 1863.

22. 22.Which rare-earth element is named after the Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin?

    • A. Terbium
    • B. Samarium
    • C. Gadolinium
    • D. Holmium
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    Gadolinium

    Did you know? Gadolinium (Gd) honors Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin.

23. 23.Which four rare-earth elements share their name with the Swedish village of Ytterby?

    • A. Samarium, gadolinium, holmium, thulium
    • B. Scandium, francium, gallium, germanium
    • C. Yttrium, terbium, erbium, ytterbium
    • D. Cerium, palladium, selenium, tellurium
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    Yttrium, terbium, erbium, ytterbium

    Did you know? Ytterby gave its name to yttrium, terbium, erbium, and ytterbium.

24. 24.Which rare earth is named after Lutetia, the Roman name of Paris?

    • A. Gallium
    • B. Francium
    • C. Lutetium
    • D. Rhenium
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    Lutetium

    Did you know? Lutetium honors Lutetia, the Roman-era name of Paris.

25. 25.Which element is named after the German city of Darmstadt, home of the GSI lab?

    • A. Darmstadtium
    • B. Copernicium
    • C. Hassium
    • D. Rhenium
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    Darmstadtium

    Did you know? Darmstadtium honors Darmstadt, the city of its discovery lab.

26. 26.Which rare earth is named for Thule, the mythical far-north land?

    • A. Erbium
    • B. Scandium
    • C. Thulium
    • D. Holmium
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    Thulium

    Did you know? Thulium honors Thule, the ancient name for Scandinavia's far north.

27. 27.Which green-glowing metal is named from "thallos", a young green shoot, for its spectral line?

    • A. Indium
    • B. Thallium
    • C. Rubidium
    • D. Cesium
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    Thallium

    Did you know? Thallium is named for the bright green line in its flame spectrum.

28. 28.Which rare earth is named after Stockholm's Latin name, Holmia?

    • A. Holmium
    • B. Thulium
    • C. Lutetium
    • D. Erbium
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    Holmium

    Did you know? Holmium honors Holmia, the Latin name for Stockholm.

29. 29.Which rare earth is named "disprositos", hard to get at?

    • A. Thulium
    • B. Holmium
    • C. Lutetium
    • D. Dysprosium
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    Dysprosium

    Did you know? Dysprosium is Greek for "hard to get", fitting its tricky separation.

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