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Have You Been Paying Attention?

By jfiore on May 13, 2008.

Have you been paying attention to science news? See if you can answer the little quiz below (my mind was wondering while proctoring my Science of Sound final exam yesterday).

Which of the following is not both a planet and an element in the Periodic Table:

A. Mercury
B. Uranus/Uranium
C. Neptune/Neptunium
D. Pluto/Plutonium

No fair looking up a Periodic Table either.

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Is this a trick question because the status of Pluto has changed? (Or is plutonium now a "minor" element?)

OK, only two players in the past month and you both got it. I'd wager that many people are not aware of Neptunium or that these three elements were named after these planets (and former planet).

For my part, I'm still searching for the elusive Marsium. It's a source of endless power, makes a wonderful car wax, and tastes great with a side order of Jupiterium.