Group 14

C
1 pt
What is coal?
The major ore of carbon
2 pt
What are diamond, graphite, and fullerene?
Three major allotropes of carbon
3 pt
What is 5730 years?
Half-life of carbon-14 (+/- 10%)
4 pt
What are 1500 K and 7 GPa?
Temperature and pressure needed to convert graphite to a synthetic diamond (+/- 20%)
5 pt
Who are richard Smalley, Robert Curl, and Harold Kroto?
One of the scientists involved in discovering fullerenes and the recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize
Si
1 pt
What is a semiconductor (computer chips, solar cells, etc.)?
Most common use of elemental silicon
2 pt
What is 26%? (mostly as SiO_2_)
Percentage of silicon found in the Earth's crust (+/- 10%)
3 pt
What are molecular sieves?
Common lab "supply" made of aluminosilicates with many pores
4 pt
What is hith temperature reduction in the presence of carbon?
Typical process used to extract elemental silicon from SiO_2_
5 pt
What are amethyst, quartz, jasper, and opal?
One of the semi-precious gem(s) based on SiO_2_
Ge
1 pt
What is it's a metalloid?
Unique characteristic of silicon and germanium compared to the other elements in this group
2 pt
What is a semiconductor for vacuum tube transistors? (W.W. II era)
Initial commercial use of germanium following it's discovery
3 pt

What is it's transparency to infrared light?

Reason why germanium dioxide glass is used for specialized optics

4 pt

What is "eka-silicon"?

Original name of germanium (before it was isolated)
5 pt

What is 0.3%? (Most available germanium is in use and must be recycled/reclaimed)

Percentage of germainum found in it's major source (sphalerite zinc ores) (+/- 10%)

Sn
1 pt

What is bronze?

Alloy made of tin and copper

2 pt

What is it coats the steel can to resist it's corrosion?

Usage of tin in "tin cans"

3 pt

What is white tin (stable) and grey tin (unstable)?

Two major allotropes of tin

4 pt

What is the buttons of their uniform? (these buttons changed from white to grey tin, falling apart and creating a very cold army; this was also a problem in 18-19th century pipe organs)

Reason tin contributed to Napoleon losing his Russian 1812 campaign

5 pt

What is molten glass floats on a molten bed of tin to create very smooth glass?

Usage of tin in the preparation of "float glass"

Pb
1 pt

What is +2? (the remainder are +4)

Oxidation state unique to lead in this group

2 pt

What is PbS? (galena)

Most common lead ore

3 pt

What is lead is a neurotoxin? (caused mental defects in children)

Reason lead paints were banned in the US in the mid-1980s

4 pt

What is an anti-knocking additive in "regular" gasoline?

Major use of tetraethyl lead prior to 1996

5 pt

What is "lead crystal"?

Product obtained when PbO_2_ is added to glass, increasing it's refractive index

Daily Double
Daily Topic

What is germanium?

Element in this group named after a place