Calling all chemistry enthusiasts and knowledge seekers: have you ever wondered "what is a transuranium element"? Our free Transuranium Elements Quiz is here to challenge your smarts and spark your curiosity. In this transuranium elements quiz, you'll learn to identify transuranium elements, uncover mind-blowing transuranic element facts, and explore the untamed world of elements beyond uranium. Whether you're a student prepping for exams or a trivia buff hunting your next victory, start today with our interactive periodic table quiz and level up your skills with our engaging element quiz. With vivid visuals, timed rounds, and surprising trivia twists, this immersive experience will test your recall and sharpen your chemistry IQ. Ready to prove you belong among the element experts? Jump in now and beat the challenge!
Which element has the chemical symbol Np?
Protactinium
Neptunium
Uranium
Plutonium
The symbol Np stands for Neptunium, the first synthetic transuranium element discovered in 1940. It has atomic number 93 and was named after the planet Neptune. Neptunium is produced in nuclear reactors from uranium-238 via neutron capture and beta decay. For more information, see Neptunium.
Which element has atomic number 94?
Plutonium
Neptunium
Americium
Uranium
Plutonium has atomic number 94 and is a key fissile material used in nuclear weapons and reactors. It was discovered in 1940 by Glenn Seaborg and his team. Plutonium derives its name from the dwarf planet Pluto, following neptunium and uranium. Learn more at Plutonium.
Which transuranium element was the first to be discovered?
Americium
Plutonium
Neptunium
Curium
Neptunium, atomic number 93, was the first transuranium element discovered in 1940 by Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson. It was detected in uranium that had been bombarded with neutrons. This discovery opened the door to synthesizing heavier elements. See details at Discovery of Transuranium Elements.
Which element has the chemical symbol Am?
Californium
Curium
Americium
Einsteinium
Am is the symbol for Americium, which was discovered in 1944 by Glenn Seaborg and colleagues. It is used in smoke detectors and industrial gauges. Americium is named after the Americas, following europium and samarium naming conventions. More at Americium.
Which element has atomic number 98?
Einsteinium
Californium
Curium
Berkelium
Californium has atomic number 98 and was first synthesized in 1950 at the University of California, Berkeley. It is used as a strong neutron source in industry and medicine. Californium is named after the state of California and the university. Read more at Californium.
Which element has the chemical symbol Cm?
Copernicium
Americium
Curium
Californium
Cm stands for Curium, element 96, discovered in 1944 by Glenn Seaborg's team. It is named in honor of Marie and Pierre Curie. Curium isotopes are used in space probes as a power source. For more, visit Curium.
Which element is named after the city of Berkeley?
Berkelium
Dubnium
Seaborgium
Rutherfordium
Berkelium, atomic number 97, is named after Berkeley, California, where it was discovered in 1949. Seaborgium, by contrast, honors Glenn Seaborg. Dubnium and Rutherfordium are named after Dubna and Ernest Rutherford, respectively. Details at Berkelium.
Americium-241 is commonly used in which household device?
Television
Kitchen scale
Smoke detector
Electric drill
Americium-241 emits alpha particles and low-energy gamma rays, making it ideal for ionization smoke detectors. It helps detect smoke by ionizing air and sensing changes in current. It's safe and long-lived for this purpose. See Americium Applications.
Which transuranium element has the most stable isotope with the longest half-life?
Neptunium
Americium
Plutonium
Curium
Plutonium-244 has a half-life of about 80 million years, making it the longest-lived isotope among transuranium elements. Neptunium-237 follows with about 2.14 million years. Americium-243 and Curium-247 have half-lives in the thousands and tens of millions of years, respectively. Reference: Plutonium Isotopes.
Which plutonium isotope is used as the primary fissile material in nuclear weapons and has a half-life of approximately 24,100 years?
Pu-239
Pu-240
Pu-238
Pu-244
Pu-239 is the principal fissile isotope in nuclear weapons and reactors, with a half-life of about 24,100 years. Pu-238 is used for radioisotope thermoelectric generators, Pu-240 and Pu-244 have different roles. More at Plutonium Applications.
Which transuranium element has an electron configuration ending in 5f^12 7s^2?
Nobelium
Mendelevium
Einsteinium
Fermium
Fermium (element 100) has the ground-state electron configuration [Rn] 5f^12 7s^2. Einsteinium is 5f^11 7s^2, Mendelevium is 5f^13 7s^2, and Nobelium has a different arrangement. See Fermium Configuration.
Which element was first discovered in the debris of a thermonuclear explosion?
Einsteinium
Curium
Californium
Berkelium
Einsteinium (element 99) and Fermium (element 100) were first identified in the fallout from the 1952 Ivy Mike hydrogen bomb test. The intense neutron flux created these heavy isotopes. Glenn Seaborg's team named element 99 in honor of Albert Einstein. Details at Einsteinium.
Which element's chemical symbol reflects its namesake Dmitri Mendeleev?
Seaborgium
Lawrencium
Mendelevium
Nobelium
Mendelevium, with symbol Md and atomic number 101, was named in honor of Dmitri Mendeleev, the creator of the periodic table. It was first synthesized in 1955 at Berkeley. The naming followed IUPAC approval in 1957. More at Mendelevium.
Which isotope of californium is commonly used as a neutron source in oil-well logging?
Cf-250
Cf-249
Cf-252
Cf-254
Californium-252 undergoes spontaneous fission, emitting neutrons that penetrate rock formations in oil-well logging. Its intense neutron flux makes it ideal for porosity measurements. Cf-249 and Cf-250 do not have the same spontaneous fission properties. See Californium Applications.
Which transuranium element is named after Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite?
Bohrium
Seaborgium
Nobelium
Lawrencium
Nobelium (element 102) was named after Alfred Nobel, following his legacy. It was discovered independently in the US and Soviet Union, but the name Nobelium was accepted by IUPAC. It has no stable isotopes and is produced in minute quantities. Details at Nobelium.
Which transuranium element was the first to be synthesized in a particle accelerator rather than a reactor?
Curium
Mendelevium
Einsteinium
Berkelium
Mendelevium was first made in 1955 by bombarding Einsteinium-253 with alpha particles in a cyclotron. Earlier elements like Curium and Americium were discovered in reactors or bomb debris. This marked a milestone for accelerator-based synthesis. See Mendelevium History.
Which is currently the highest atomic number element confirmed by IUPAC?
Oganesson
Copernicium
Flerovium
Tennessine
Oganesson (element 118) is the heaviest element confirmed by IUPAC as of now. It was synthesized by collaborating teams at Dubna and Livermore in 2002 - 2006. It completes the seventh period of the periodic table. More at Oganesson.
Which transuranium element deviates from the expected electron configuration due to relativistic effects, showing a 7p¹ valence electron?
Nobelium
Lawrencium
Rutherfordium
Seaborgium
Lawrencium (element 103) has an unexpected ground-state configuration of [Rn] 5f^14 7s^2 7p^1 instead of the predicted 6d^1. This anomaly is due to strong relativistic effects in heavy elements. The discovery confirmed advanced quantum calculations. Reference: Lawrencium Configuration.
Which element is typically synthesized by bombarding californium-249 with oxygen-18 ions?
Seaborgium
Bohrium
Darmstadtium
Rutherfordium
Seaborgium (element 106) was synthesized by bombarding a ^249Cf target with ^18O ions, producing ^263Sg. This heavy-ion fusion technique is common for elements above curium. The experiment was conducted in 1974 at Berkeley. For details, see Seaborgium Isotopes.
Approximately what is the half-life of the isotope tennessine-294?
2 seconds
51 milliseconds
8 minutes
10 microseconds
Tennessine-294 has an experimentally measured half-life of around 51 milliseconds. Very short-lived isotopes characterize elements in this region. This measurement helps understand nuclear stability beyond lead. More at Tennessine Isotopes.
The discovery of mendelevium involved bombarding which element's isotope with alpha particles?
Americium-243
Californium-252
Curium-247
Einsteinium-253
Mendelevium was first synthesized by bombarding ^253Es with alpha particles in 1955. The reaction ^253Es(?,n)^256Md produced element 101. This milestone used tracer techniques for unambiguous identification. Reference: Mendelevium Synthesis.
What separation technique is commonly used to isolate transuranium elements during spent fuel reprocessing?
Electrolysis
Distillation
Solvent extraction (PUREX)
Gas chromatography
The PUREX (Plutonium Uranium Redox EXtraction) process uses tri-n-butyl phosphate to selectively extract uranium and plutonium from dissolved spent fuel. It separates transuranics from fission products in an organic phase. This method is central to most nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. See PUREX Process.
Which method is commonly used to synthesize transuranium elements heavier than curium in modern laboratories?
Heavy-ion fusion reactions
Electrolysis
Thermal neutron capture
Laser ablation
Elements beyond curium are typically synthesized in heavy-ion fusion reactions, where a lighter ion beam (like calcium-48) bombards a heavier target. The evaporation of neutrons leads to a new nucleus. This approach produced elements up to oganesson. More at Heavy-Ion Fusion.
In the synthesis of moscovium (element 115), which two nuclei are collided?
Americium-243 and Calcium-48
Californium-249 and Carbon-12
Curium-248 and Neon-22
Uranium-238 and Nickel-64
Moscovium was first synthesized by bombarding ^243Am with ^48Ca ions at Dubna in 2003. The fusion reaction produced isotopes ^288Mc and ^287Mc, confirming element 115. This method exemplifies hot fusion using calcium-48 projectiles. See Moscovium Synthesis.
Which transuranium element produced so far lies closest to the predicted 'island of stability' and is expected to have relatively longer half-lives?
Flerovium
Copernicium
Livermorium
Nihonium
Flerovium (element 114) is located near the theorized island of stability, where shell effects may yield longer-lived nuclei. Its observed isotopes have half-lives of up to seconds, which is unusually long for superheavy elements. The prediction arises from closed proton and neutron shells at Z=114, N=184. For more, see Island of Stability.
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AI Study Notes
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Study Outcomes
Understand Transuranium Elements -
Define what is a transuranium element and describe its distinguishing features compared to lighter elements on the periodic table.
Identify Key Transuranium Elements -
Recognize and name elements beyond uranium by their atomic number and chemical symbol to sharpen your element identification skills.
Analyze Periodic Table Placement -
Locate and interpret the positioning of transuranium elements within the periodic table, understanding how they relate to other element groups.
Recall Transuranic Element Facts -
Learn fascinating transuranic element facts, including discovery history, half-lives, and common applications.
Apply Knowledge Through Quiz Challenges -
Test your mastery with a free transuranium elements quiz, reinforcing what you've learned and identifying areas for further study.
Cheat Sheet
Defining Transuranium Elements -
Transuranium elements are those with atomic numbers greater than 92, meaning they follow uranium on the periodic table according to IUPAC standards. Remember that asking "what is a transuranium element" is simply a question of positioning beyond uranium. This foundational fact anchors all other transuranic element facts in your study.
Synthesis Pathways in Nuclear Reactors -
Most transuranium elements form via neutron capture in uranium fuel, exemplified by U-238 + n → U-239 → Np-239 → Pu-239, a reaction detailed by DOE research. Understanding this formula helps you identify transuranium elements and trace their creation routes. Practice balancing these nuclear equations to sharpen your skills for the transuranium elements quiz.
Radioactive Decay & Half-Lives -
Each element beyond uranium decays uniquely, with half-lives ranging from seconds to millions of years; for example, Pu-239 has a half-life of 24,100 years (PubChem data). Familiarize yourself with exponential decay equations N(t)=N₀e^(−λt) to predict activity declines. Mastering these equations will boost your confidence when tackling decay questions.
Naming Conventions & Mnemonics -
Transuranium elements often honor places or scientists, like americium (Am) for America, and curium (Cm) for Marie Curie (IUPAC reports). A popular mnemonic - "New People Produce A Crazy Finding" (Np, Pu, Am, Cm, Bk) - can help you recall the sequence. Such tricks are invaluable for quick recall in any elements beyond uranium challenge.
Applications, Safety & Handling -
Among elements beyond uranium, americium-241 in smoke detectors and californium-252 in neutron sources showcase diverse industrial applications (Oak Ridge Lab). Always note that strict shielding and regulation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ensure safe handling. Embracing these transuranic element facts not only deepens your knowledge but also prepares you for real-world chemistry scenarios.
