| Li |
|---|
| 1 pt |
| | When is 1817? |
| | Year lithium was identified (+/- 5 yrs) |
| 2 pt |
| | What is bipolar disorder? |
| | Medical disorder commonly treated with modern lithium compounds |
| 3 pt |
| | What is the big bang? |
| | Event believed to have produced the majority of the universe's lithium supply |
| 4 pt |
| | What is magnesium? (as a result of the diagonal relationship) |
| | Element most similar to lithium on the periodic table |
| 5 pt |
| | What is carbon dioxide? |
| | Substance readily absorbed by lithium hydroxide and used in submarines and spacecraft |
|
| Na |
|---|
| 1 pt |
| | What is the Downs process? (or what is electrolysis?) |
| | Process used to obtain sodium from rock salt |
| 2 pt |
| | Who is Berzelius? |
| | Chemist who named sodium |
| 3 pt |
| | What are streetlamps (sodium vapor lamps)? |
| | Common use of sodium vapor due to it's strong yellow emission lines |
| 4 pt |
| | What is ammonia? |
| | Solvent used to isolate electrons from sodium (producing a strong blue color) |
| 5 pt |
| | What is benzophenone? |
| | Organic compound used in conjunction with sodium to distill organic solvents (e.g., remove all water and oxygen) |
|
| K |
|---|
| 1 pt |
| | What is potash (KOH)? |
| | Naturally occurring salt that gives potassium it's name |
| 2 pt |
| | Who is Sir Humphrey Davy? |
| | Chemist responsible for isolating many of the alkali metals (including potassium) |
| 3 pt |
| | What is radiodating (radioactive K-40 decays to Ar-40, half life 1.2 bn yrs)? |
| | Common application of potassium in conjunction with argon atoms |
| 4 pt |
| | What is sodium? |
| | Ion associated with potassium in living organisms in creating membrane potentials |
| 5 pt |
| | What is stopping the human heart (capital punishment, lethal injection)? |
| | Previously typical use for KCl that has been recently banned in many states |
|
| Rb |
|---|
| 1 pt |
| | What is deep red (latin "rubidus")? |
| | Meaning of the latin root for rubidium |
| 2 pt |
| | What is act as a biomarker (replacing potassium) or inducing DNA uptake in cells? |
| | Biological use for rubidium chloride |
| 3 pt |
| | Who are Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchoff? |
| | Joint discovers of rubidium and cesium |
| 4 pt |
| | What is a tracer element for detecting brain tumors? |
| | Medical application of rubidium due to its mild radioactivity |
| 5 pt |
| | What is laser cooling? |
| | Technique that uses rubidium-based materials to reach a very low 0.0000005 K |
|
| Cs / Fr |
|---|
| 1 pt |
| | What is "sky blue" (latin "caesius")? |
| | Meaning of the latin root for cesium |
| 2 pt |
| | What are atomic clocks? |
| | Well-known, regular, repeated use for excited cesium atoms |
| 3 pt |
| | What are photocells (produce electric current from irradiation) or "night vision" glasses? |
| | Application of cesium that takes advantage of it's very low ionization potential |
| 4 pt |
| | What is 30 g? |
| | Total amount of francium believed to be on the Earth's surface (+/- 5%) |
| 5 pt |
| | 157 K |
| | Temperature at which ice must be below in order for metallic cesium to not (violently) react with it (+/- 10 deg) |
|
| Daily Double |
|---|
| Daily Topic |
| | What is the ability to taste salty things? |
| | Special development in herbivores and omnivores due to their high biological need for sodium and its relative scarcity in most areas |
|