August 07 2011
Maths Reaction [BB322]
US puzzler Ed Pegg posted today’s head-scratcher as part of National Public Radio’s excellent Sunday puzzler – a link I can recommend to Dabblers in general.
Ed asked listeners to consider the periodic table’s first nine elements, as listed below. Your challenge is to select one letter per element, moving in sequence down the list, and so create a nine letter word that’s related to mathematics, with no mixing (or compound chemistry) required.
Question being, are you made of the right stuff?
hydrogen
helium
lithium
beryllium
boron
carbon
nitrogen
oxygen
fluorine
[And as a bonus puzzle, what prominent name of sport comprises two chemical symbols side by side?]
Any other chemical conundrums cooking on your back burner?
SOLUTION NEXT WEEK
BB321 SOLUTION: W/asp, f/ox, f/owl, b/ass, t/ern, s/mew, l/izard (the izard is a cousin of the chamois)
Comments
dg — 07 August at 12:17AM
Answer: Lithium Sodium
anax — 07 August at 01:15AM
Aha! Numerator?
Anthony Douglas — 07 August at 06:02AM
Yeah, I got there too.
Sam — 07 August at 12:41PM
Another chemical puzzle:
A noble guide?
Criseyde — 07 August at 04:23PM
Don't know, Sam, but I found:
Heaven Never Asked Kriegspiel's Extra Rent
and a mathematical mnemonic:
Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally
or for the lower grades
Bless my dear Aunt Sally
As a linguist and failed scientist, wish I'd known about them when I was at school, might have had a chance. However, I did learn by rote the periodic table and still remember a lot of it!
Criseyde — 07 August at 04:33PM
Surely the noble gases mnemonic can be improved. Xyolophones have been around for a while, and who in the universe is Kriegspiel?
Nib — 07 August at 05:03PM
Nice work, I was looking for a word that ended in '-ion'.
If anybody was interested in tackling some puzzles from my Year 5 kids' homework last week, I was surprised at the level of skill involved:
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/1941/20110805165443.jpg
Though I noted the sheet messed up the sequel anagram with some excess letters:
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/4904/homeworkd.jpg
DA — 07 August at 05:26PM
I'm feeling a tad conquered by your CONQUERED example, Nib. Unless the answer is a misspelt CONCURED, I'm toast. Is this aimed at child prodigies?!
RK — 07 August at 05:33PM
Speaking of excess letters, the CONQUERED example indicates the answer is 10 letters. When it should be 8 (or 9 if it's CONCURRED).
Nib — 07 August at 09:40PM
I conqurr.
ML — 07 August at 09:52PM
The bonus is a backwards cricketer.
Sam — 07 August at 10:10PM
close Criseyde - using the noble gases as above to find a new, though shorter, word for guide...
Nib — 08 August at 11:11AM
I had to... PLUMB my mind for that answer, Sam.
Sam — 08 August at 12:01PM
Nib, I was thinking of 'mentor'? From:
heliuM
nEon
argoN
krypTon
xenOn
Radon
RobT — 08 August at 12:59PM
I get nanometre...just in a different order.
Nib — 09 August at 09:03PM
Oh, I... clearly misunderstood the brief. I was thinking 'LEAD' as in the element and a synonym for guide.
RobT — 09 August at 09:26PM
Other Prominent names in sport?
Ashe in tennis (Arsenic, Helium);
Hebe is the goddess of youth so is happily in many sports! (Helium, Beryllium);
Bip Roberts of baseball fame (Bismuth, Phosphorus);
and I submit
BO (Boron, Oxygen) as an ever-too-prominent name in sport.