CmCl3 - Chemistry Quiz @ Pandemonium '15.

The Chemistry Quiz:
Curious Chloride
Or
{It Really Isn’t All About That Base.}
The Chemistry Society, St. Stephen’s College
presents, as part of Pandemonium ‘15
In Associaton with:
Prelims (Answers)

The word X is a neologism first used by the early 17th-century Flemish
chemist J.B. van Helmont, probably influenced by Paracelsus, who used
the Greek khaos (empty space; abyss) in an occult sense of "proper
elements of spirits" or "ultra-rarified water," which was van Helmont's
definition of X.
Hunc spiritum, incognitum hactenus, novo nomine X voco ("This vapor,
hitherto unknown, I call by a new name, 'X.'"
[Helmont, Ortus Medicinae]
An alternative story is that Van Helmont's word is corrupted from the
Dutch for ghost or spirit. This was because certain Xs suggested a
supernatural origin, such as from their ability to cause death, extinguish
flames, and to occur in "mines, bottom of wells, churchyards and other
lonely places".
*1

Plumbers in Chicago used a certain chemical dye to trace sources of
illegal pollution discharge in 1962. The dye eventually flowed into the
Chicago river. The sight was impressive enough to convince the
plumbers' Union to do this every year, in observance of St. Patrick's day.
In 1966 they switched to a vegetable dye for safety reasons.
What chemical dye?
*2

The structure of X is a significant cause of the eruption because of its
nucleation sites.
The surface of the X is covered with many small holes that increase the
surface area available for reaction (and thus the quantity of reagents
exposed to each other at any given time), thereby allowing carbon
dioxide bubbles to form with the rapidity and quantity necessary for the
"jet"—or "geyser"—or eruption like nature of the effusion. This
hypothesis gained further support when rock salt was used as a "jump
start" to the reaction.
Tonya Coffey, a physicist at Appalachian State University in Boone,
North Carolina, confirmed that the rough surface of the X helps speed
the reaction. Coffey also found that the aspartame in Y lowers the surface
tension and causes a bigger reaction, but that caffeine does not
accelerate the reaction.
Give X and Y, Funda basically.
*3

X – Mentos; Y – Diet Coke.
3

This bridged cycloalkane is officially Bicyclo[2.1.0]pentane. What is its
more popular common name?
4

X , a chemical term, is also the name given to common heavy duty
cleaning and disinfectant formulations. X is typically an emulsion of
pine-derived terpineols in water, with a recognisable and characteristic
smell. The name for X and its chemical species-namesake both come
from a Greek word for 'shiny'.
What is X?
5

Emsley predicts 128.
Khazan, 155.
Seaborg, 130.
Bohr's model, 137.
Feynman, via the Dirac equation, 173.
Greiner says it can't be predicted.
What are we talking about?
6

In French, it is Azote (A-zoo-te – lifeless);
in German, Stickstoff (Ensticken - to suffocate). What is it in English?
7

Titin also known as connectin, is a protein important in the contraction
of striated muscle tissues.
It connects the Z line to the M line in the sarcomere.After myosin and
actin, titin is the third most abundant protein in muscle and an adult
human contains approximately 0.5 kg of titin.
With its length of ~27,000 to ~33,000 amino acids (depending on the
splice isoform), titin is the largest known protein.
What other distinction does it hold?
8

As the largest known protein, titin also has the longest
IUPAC name. The full chemical name contains 189,819
letters and is sometimes stated to be the longest word in
the English language, or any language.
8

Claude Émile Jean-Baptiste X is a fictional character created in 1978 by
Kenneth Woolner of the University of Waterloo.
Woolner perpetrated the April Fools' Day hoax in the April 1978 issue of
"CHEM 13 News", a newsletter concerned with chemistry for school
teachers. According to the hoax, Claude X was born on 12 February 1716,
the son of a manufacturer of wine bottles. During X’s extremely
distinguished fictional scientific career, he purportedly proposed a unit
of volume measurement that was incorporated into the International
System of Units after his death in 1778.
The hoax was mistakenly printed as fact in the IUPAC journal Chemistry
International, and subsequently retracted.
Give X.
*9

X was an American neo-futuristic architect, systems theorist, author,
designer, and inventor.
X published more than 30 books, coining or popularizing terms such as
"Spaceship Earth", ephemeralization, and synergetic.
X was also the second president of Mensa from 1974 to 1983.
Give X and tell me why he’s being spoken about here.
10

X acid was the old name for a form of tartaric acid that contained equal
amounts of the (+) and (-) isomers.
Louis Pasteur was able to separate the enantiomers by hand-picking
crystals.
X is no longer used to refer to this substance, but is a commonplace
chemical term.
Give X.
1:1

Three elements are named after minor or dwarf planets.
Name them all.
12

Cerium, from Ceres;
Paladium, from Pallas;
Plutonium, from Pluto.
12

The term X was coined by Frederick Soddy and Margaret Todd in 1913,
and it means “having the same place” in Greek. The ‘place’ here refers
to the discrete places in a particular system well known in science. Many
similar words are used in science, and mean “having the same weight” or
“…heat”, “…volume” and so on.
What is X?
*13

Whose name have I blanked out?
14

John Nettleship was a British schoolteacher
who taught chemistry at Wyedean School,
Gloucestershire. He studied Chemistry at
the University of Leeds in the late 1950s.
He joined the Labour Party at that time,
and remained an active member for the rest
of his life.
Nettleship described himself in hindsight as
"a short-tempered chemistry teacher with
long hair...[and a] gloomy, malodorous
laboratory..“
Tell me why we would include a British
schoolteacher in this quiz.
15

He had one Joanne Rowling in his class,
who based Severus Snape on him.
15

The Chemistry Quiz:
Curious Chloride
Or
{It Really Isn’t All About That Base.}
The Chemistry Society, St. Stephen’s College
presents, as part of Pandemonium ‘15
In Associaton with:
Prelims (Finals)

A is the name of a common and fairly simple chemical. A's name is
eventually derived from the Sanskrit word for blue, via the Portuguese
and Arabic names of the B plant. The chemical B is derived from the B
plant, and was once very rare. In 1917, C led a famous revolt against a
colonial government that insisted upon B cultivation, even during
famine. German chemist D set out the first synthetic schemes for B in the
late 1870s, and won the Nobel prize in 1905. His syntheses of B are
considered his foremost achievements, despite also discovering
phthaleins, barbiturates, synthesising fluorescein and the first phenol-
formaldehyde resin, and elucidating the structure of indole.
D succeeded E as Professor of Chemistry at the University of Munich in
1875. E is considered among the 'fathers' of both organic chemistry and
the fertiliser industry. E devised the modern laboratory-oriented
teaching method, and for such innovations, he is regarded one of the
greatest chemistry teachers of all time.
MQ1a

E gave his name also to a piece of laboratory equipment essential even
today, nearly 200 years after his time, for reflux. F, a nephew of his
student, also gave his name to a piece of apparatus used in laboratories,
for low pressure filtration. Part of this apparatus, the F flask, is
considered a specialised G (a.k.a conical) flask that allows for the
connection of a vacuum source. G was also a student of E, and was an
important chemist, proving that only three nitrobenzoic acids exist, and
providing the first description of keto-enol tautomerism. G worked with
H on the description of certain phosphorus-containing crystalline
substances. H is also best known by an item of laboratory equipment,
and helped develop emission spectral analysis, using which he co-
discovered Caesium and Rubidium. German chemists Richter and Reich
used the same technique to discover I, an element named after its B-
coloured spectral line.
MQ1a

A - Aniline
B – Indigo
C – Gandhi
D – Adolf von Baeyer
E – Justus von Liebig
F – Buchner
G – Erlenmeyer
H – Robert Bunsen
I – Indium.
MQ1

A is a former research scientist, and earned a doctorate in quantum
chemistry after graduating in Physics from the University of Leipzig. A is
one of the most influential politicians in the world. Her style of political
leadership is often compared to B, who also had a chemical background,
graduating with second-class honours from Somerville College, Oxford
University. B did her fourth-year research project under the supervision
of C at Oxford. C won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964, for her X-ray
studies of biomolecules. In 1953, C was banned from entering the USA,
because of her associations with communists, including pioneer X-ray
crystallographer John Desmond Bernal. C gained some infamy in 1982
by contributing to a scientific paper by D, wife of the Romanian dictator.
After the Romanian revolution in 1989, it was learnt that D had never
finished school, and that her scientific credentials were false.
Bernal was also partly reponsible for E's entry into active research. E,
controversially, was never awarded the Nobel Prize. Beneficiaries of her
X-ray studies on genetic material, F and G famously won the Prize in
Physiology in 1962. E died at 37. Aaron Klug, who carried her research
forward, also won the Nobel in Chemistry in 1982.
MQ2a

H, whose ideas also contributed to F and G's Prize-winning work, also
won a Nobel in 1962, for Peace. H could not see E's work when it was
presented in 1952 because his passport was withheld by US authorities,
once again due to suspicion that he had communist sympathies.
H is one of three chemists to have won the Nobel prize twice. J won it for
chemistry twice. K won it once for chemistry and once for physics.
Bernal was also partly reponsible for E's entry into active research. E,
controversially, was never awarded the Nobel Prize. Beneficiaries of her
X-ray studies on genetic material, F and G famously won the Prize in
Physiology in 1962. E died at 37. Aaron Klug, who carried her research
forward, also won the Nobel in Chemistry in 1982.
H, whose ideas also contributed to F and G's Prize-winning work, also
won a Nobel in 1962, for Peace. H could not see E's work when it was
presented in 1952 because his passport was withheld by US authorities,
once again due to suspicion that he had communist sympathies.
H is one of three chemists to have won the Nobel prize twice. J won it for
chemistry twice. K won it once for chemistry and once for physics.
MQ2b

A – Angela Merkel
B – Margaret Thatcher
C – Dorothy Hodgkin
D – Elena Ceausescu
E – Rosalind Franklin
F and G – Watson and Crick
H – Linus Pauling.
J – Fred Sanger
K – Marie Curie
MQ2

In 2011-12, The Royal Society of Chemistry website published a series of
articles with such titles as "Poisoning... With Phosphine Gas", "Acid Bath
Disposal of Bodies", "Can a Little Crystal Blow Up a Room?" and
"Thermite Break-in".
What were these articles trying to investigate?
1

The science behind Breaking Bad.
1

In the Soviet Union, X theory — especially as developed by Pauling —
was attacked in the early 1950s as being contrary to the Marxist
principles of dialectical materialism, and in June 1951 the Soviet
Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Alexander Nesmeyanov
convened a conference on the chemical structure of organic compounds,
attended by 400 physicists, chemists, and philosophers, where "the
pseudo-scientific essence of the theory of X was exposed and unmasked".
Give X.
2

The video shows Purdue professor David Goble setting the record time
for preparing a barbecue for cooking.
Anyone who has ever tried this knows it usually takes a few minutes.
Prof. Goble took less than five seconds. His technique involved the use of
a smouldering cigarette, charcoal, and X.
When these efforts were noticed by the West Lafayette, Indiana fire
department, he was warned to never let them catch him in the
possession of X near a barbecue fire ever again.
What is X?
3

An increasingly popular, but entirely unscientific marketing practice by
promoters of 'natural' or 'organic' consumer products led the Royal
Society of Chemistry to announce a one-million pound prize in 2008, for
any evidence of such a product actually existing, What is this common
advertising claim?
4

“Chemical Free” Products.
4

Ig Nobel prize-winning Soviet
crystallographer Yuri Struchkov
published a staggering 948 chemical
research papers in ten years from
1981-1990 (about one every four
days).
His Ig Nobel prize is not in
Chemistry. What is it in?
5

Carl Mosander, in 1841, thought he had discovered a new element. He
named it Didymium, from the Greek for 'twin', since it seemed so similar
chemically to Lanthanum.
In 1885, Carl Auer von Welsbach separated Didymium into two new,
actual elements, X and Y. The 'twin' thus turned out be be a pair of twins.
What are X and Y?
6

The Swedish village where this sign stands is immensely important to
chemistry.
What is the village called?
7

Ytterby.
The rare earth mineral yttria was discovered and named
after the village.
This crude mineral eventually proved to be the source of
four new elements that were named after the mineral ore
and the village.
These elements are yttrium ( (Yb). Y), erbium (Er), terbium
(Tb), and ytterbium
7

French scientist Pierre Janssen made an astronomical discovery while in
Guntur, then Madras State, in 1868.
This created speculation that the elements on Earth might not be the
same as those that make up the rest of the Universe.
What did he discover?
8

Hamburg Alchemist Hennig Brand discovered Phosphorus in the 17th
Century, using this recipe:
"Boil X to reduce it to a thick syrup.
Heat until a red oil distills up from it, and draw that off.
Allow the remainder to cool, where it consists of a black spongy upper
part and a salty lower part.
Discard the salt, mix the red oil back into the black material.
Heat that mixture strongly for 16 hours.
First white fumes come off, then an oil, then phosphorus.
The phosphorus may be passed into cold water to solidify."
Give X.
9

Chemist and playwright Carl Djerassi, who died earlier this year, was the
co-inventor of X, perhaps the most socially important chemical work of
the '50s.
He is quoted as saying “The irony was, I lived on both sides of it. I
married my second wife before X, in 1949, because she got pregnant. We
wouldn’t have married otherwise. That’s unheard of now.”
Give X.
2
11

X, also known as the ‘agrin-like protein’ is coded for by the EGFLAM
gene, discovered by Shigeru Sato et al in Japan in 2008. It plays a key
role in photoreceptor mechanisms in the human eye. It was named X
because it was ‘nimble’ and due to its ‘lightning-fast moves and shocking
electric effects’.
Give X.
2
12

Supporters of X have been unable to provide a scientific explanation for
how X works, if it does at all.
A proposed, but dodgy mechanism is attacked here by comedian Tim
Minchin:
"It's a miracle! Take physics and bin it!
Water has Y!
And while its Y of a long lost drop of onion juice is Infinite,
It somehow forgets all the poo it's had in it!“
Give X or Y.
(*Hint on Request.)
13

X – Homoeopathy;
Y – Memory.
13

Humphrey Davy of England: poisoned, recovered.
George and Thomas Knox of Ireland: both poisoned, one bedridden 3
years, recovered.
P. Louyet of Belgium: poisoned, died.
Jerome Nickels of Nancy, France: poisoned, died.
George Gore of England: X / hydrogen explosion, narrowly escaped
injury.
Henri Moissan of France: poisoned several times, success, but
shortened life.
Give Funda.
14

X's basic idea was that acidity was caused by the presence of Y in the
compound. In fact, X (in September 1777) created the word Y, from the
Latin "acid maker." Hence, his conclusion (published about April 1776)
was that Y was the component in a compound that was responsible for
the generic property of acid.
The other portion of the compound combined with the Y was called an
'acidifiable base" and was responsible for the specific properties of the
compound. He was later disproved, but the idea is historically important
since it is the first systematic attempt to chemically characterize acids
and bases.
Give X and Y.
15

X – Antoine Lavoisier;
Y – Oxygen.
15

In alchemy, aqua fortis (Latin for "strong water") was first described by
Pseudo-Geber. Being highly corrosive, the solution was used in alchemy
for dissolving silver and most other metals with the notable exception of
gold, which can be dissolved using aqua regia or "regal water". Aqua
fortis was prepared by mixing either sand, alum, or vitriol, or the last two
together, with saltpeter, then distilling it by a hot fire. The gas collected
from this condenses into aqua fortis.
How do we better know aqua fortis?
16

X is a Portuguese word meaning 'Congratulations'.
It is also a family of chemical compounds, found in shampoos and
shaving creams, that have bactericidal and fungicidal properties. The
typical structure of one of these is shown.
Give X.
17

X was first deposited on Earth by a meteorite 10,000 years ago. The first
documented discovery of X was during a human expedition to
Antarctica. This particular isotope of X was dubbed "Anti-Metal" due to
its property of dissolving other metals.
A different variety of X found in Wakanda absorbs soundwaves and
other vibrations, including kinetic energy. It was discovered by the
Wakandan king T'Chaka, father of the Black Panther T'Challa. To protect
this resource, he concealed his country from the outside world. T'Chaka
funded his country's education by occasionally selling off minute
quantities of the metal. As a result, Wakanda is one of the world's most
technologically advanced nations.
Y was inadvertently invented by the American metallurgist Dr. Myron
MacLain in an attempt to recreate his prior discovery, a unique alloy of
steel and X. The ultra-resilient alloy was used to create Z's shield.
Give X, Y, Z.
18

X – Adamantium; Y – Vibranium;
Z – Captain America.
18

Installation art piece 'Seizure' by British artist Roger Hiorns has been
described by viewers as "beautiful but not nice. There's both an
attraction and an aggression about it. It is a toxic takeover.“
The artist himself says, "I had an uncanny moment of standing in this
quite threatening environment. The sharpness and the oddness of it
enlivens your senses, puts them in a different state. It's somehow like
being a spaceman.”
The work uses a substance whose distinctive colour has allured chemists
for centuries. What is the artwork?
19

Copper Sulphate.
He filled an abandoned waterproofed council flat in London with 75,000
liters of copper sulfate solution. The solution was left to crystallize for
several weeks before the flat was drained, leaving crystal-covered walls,
floors and ceilings
19

4/19/43 16:20: 0.5 cc of 1/2 promil aqueous solution of diethylamide
tartrate orally = 0.25 mg tartrate. Taken diluted with about 10 cc water.
Tasteless.
17:00: Beginning dizziness, feeling of anxiety, visual distortions,
symptoms of paralysis, desire to laugh.
Supplement of 4/21: Home by bicycle. From 18:00- ca.20:00 most
severe crisis. (See special report.)
Here the notes in my laboratory journal cease. I was able to write the
last words only with great effort. By now it was already clear to me
that _____ had been the cause of the remarkable experience of the
previous Friday, for the altered perceptions were of the same type as
before, only much more intense. I had to struggle to speak intelligibly. I
asked my laboratory assistant, who was informed of the self-
experiment, to escort me home. We went by bicycle, no automobile
being available because of wartime restrictions on their use.
…
20a

…
On the way home, my condition began to assume threatening forms.
Everything in my field of vision wavered and was distorted as if seen in
a curved mirror. I also had the sensation of being unable to move from
the spot. Nevertheless, my assistant later told me that we had traveled
very rapidly. Finally, we arrived at home safe and sound, and I was
just barely capable of asking my companion to summon our family
doctor and request milk from the neighbors.
In spite of my delirious, bewildered condition, I had brief periods of
clear and effective thinking — and chose milk as a nonspecific antidote
for poisoning.
Who on What?
20b

CmCl3 - Chemistry Quiz @ Pandemonium '15.

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