Free quiz · 8 questions · Warm-up to Boss
The periodic table quiz
How well do you really know The periodic table? These 8 questions start easy and end with a Boss round. There are no multiple choice options: you type what you know, and every answer is checked against the key facts.
60 seconds a question, one 2x boost, and a leaderboard. Playing with friends writes a fresh set of The periodic table questions for your group.
The questions
- Warm-up
What does the periodic table arrange, and what number sets the elements’ order?
Show the answer
- It arranges chemical elements
- Elements are ordered by atomic number
- Atomic number counts protons in an atom’s nucleus
- Easy
Carbon’s atom is a tiny headcount mystery: how many protons are in its nucleus, and what’s carbon’s one- or two-letter symbol?
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- A carbon atom has 6 protons.
- Carbon’s symbol is C.
- The proton count determines an element’s atomic number.
- Easy
Among the noble gases, which one is the lightest, and what symbol should you jot down before the clock runs out?
Show the answer
- Helium is the lightest noble gas.
- Its symbol is He.
- Helium has atomic number 2.
- Easy
At ordinary room temperature, which two elements are liquids, and what is the chemical symbol of each?
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- Mercury is liquid at ordinary room temperature.
- Mercury’s symbol is Hg.
- Bromine is liquid at ordinary room temperature.
- Bromine’s symbol is Br.
- Medium
Elements stacked in the same periodic-table column are chemistry cousins: what do they generally share about outer electrons, and what does that suggest about their properties?
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- Elements in the same column generally have the same number of outer-shell (valence) electrons, especially in the main groups.
- They tend to have similar chemical properties or behavior.
- The column is also called a group or family.
- Medium
What symbol represents gold, what is its atomic number, and which Latin name explains the symbol?
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- Gold’s symbol is Au
- Gold’s atomic number is 79
- The symbol comes from the Latin name aurum
- Medium
Which element was first spotted in the Sun’s spectrum, and what Greek word inspired its name?
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- Helium
- First identified in the Sun’s spectrum
- Named from Helios, Greek for the Sun
- Boss
Which element did Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson first produce in 1940, and which planet inspired its name?
Show the answer
- Neptunium
- First produced in 1940
- Named after Neptune
How scoring works
- Each question has 2 or 3 key facts. Each one earns full, half or no credit, so a wrong answer scores zero.
- Later questions are worth more, fast answers earn a bonus, and great answers in a row build a streak.
- A famous myth or a clear factual error halves the points.
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Or pick any topic you like and play it with friends.