http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-1003404.mp3
Albany, NY – WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel try to stay within their element as they tackle the periodic table.
Last week's challenge
Start with the name of Al Pacino's 1999 film THE INSIDER. Rearrange the letters to name two five-letter films in which Pacino does not appear.
ANSWER: DINER and HEIST
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: THE ELEMENTS
On-air questions: Dmitri Mendeleev, the Russian chemist who devised the original version of the periodic table, was born this week in 1834, so our questions this week are about the elements.
1. Element whose chemical symbol Hg derives from the Latin word "hydrargyrum," which means "watery silver"
2. The two naturally-occurring elements whose names contain the letter X
3. Only element that has been the subject of a patent, when a researcher at General Electric received one in 1913 for a form of the element he used to make light bulb filaments
4. Element often called "the poison of kings" because members of the nobility often used it to commit murder
5. Element used in its liquid form as a coolant for superconductors and often seen in cryogenics labs
Extra credit
1. The two elements whose names end in the letter C
2. Element with the highest melting point, at 6332 F
This week's challenge
Think of two elements with a total of eight letters in their names. Rearrange those eight letters to spell an adjective that might describe someone who failed chemistry class. What are the elements and what is the adjective?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. Mercury
2. Oxygen and xenon
3. Tungsten
4. Arsenic
5. Nitrogen
Extra credit
1. Arsenic and zinc
2. Carbon
