To Mendeleev’s Castle
You and your friends have been magically transported inside an 18-room castle
built by the famous chemist Dimitri Mendeleev. Each room is entirely made from
one of the elements of the first three rows of the periodic table. No element is
repeated. Each element will appear in the state (solid, liquid, or gas) it retains at
room temperature. You do not know where in the castle you have been
transported.
A holographic image of Mendeleev will accompany
you on your journey, giving you clues to help you
determine which room you are in. You identify the
element by clicking on its symbol to the right. Each
time you identify the element a room is made of, you
will be transported to another room in the castle.
Once you travel through all the rooms, you will find
your way out of Castle Mendeleev. If you select the
wrong element then you will be transported
somewhere else……… Good luck!
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
1. You and your friends have suddenly materialized
into a room made entirely of a shiny, metallic solid.
A shimmering holograph appears before you. It is
an old man with long brown hair and a full-length
beard streaked with gray hairs. Wearing a
nineteenth-century topcoat, it is Dimitri Mendeleev.
In a crisp, intelligent
voice, the scientist says,
"This room has been
constructed of a strong lightweight,
corrosion-resistant metal composed of
atoms containing 3 electrons in the outer
level and 13 protons in their nuclei. It is
the most abundant element in the
earth's crust."
What element is this room made of? Make your selection to the
right.
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
2. The next room you find yourselves in is made of a colorless, life-giving gas.
Suddenly,
Mendeleev
appears
again
saying
"This element is a non-metal
diatomic gas that comprises about
20% of normal air. It combines
with most other elements to form
oxides."
Carefully make your selection to the right.
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
3. Next, you and your friends are transported to a room made from a greenish-yellow gas,
which immediately begins to burn your nostrils and your throat. You reach into your
packs for gas masks to protect yourselves from the poisonous fumes. For the third
time a holograph of Mendeleev speaks
to you through the eerie gases.
"This diatomic gas is a halogen, found in
ordinary table salt."
What element surrounds you?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
4. In the next room you find yourselves surrounded by bright yellow crystals. As you
remove your gas masks, the old chemist, tinted yellow by light reflecting off the
crystals, appears yet again.
"The atoms of this element have
6 electrons in the outer level."
Carefully make your selection to the right.
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
5. You are now in a room made of a colorless gas, located in one of the towers
of the Castle Mendeleev. Beautifully colored balloons hang in mid air all
around you. Trying to talk to your friends, your voice sounds high-pitched
and
squeaky.
The
holographic
image tells you…
"The atoms of this
element are very
noble."
What element is this room made
of?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
6. The sixth room you are transported into, on the
second floor of the castle, is made of a silver-gray,
metallic solid. Taking a knife out of your backpack,
you are able to cut a piece of it off with the blade
because the element is very soft. A portion of the
element touches your hand, burning your skin a
little. Filling a small glass beaker with water from
your canteen, you drop the substance in it to
observe its reaction with water. It fizzes around the
water releasing a flammable gas and then
disappears
Which element is it? Make your selection to the right.
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
7. Next, you are transported to a room with bright white, waxy walls! You are
ordered to turn off the lights by a mysterious voice and the entire room glows
in the dark when you do! The voice tells you:
This element is a non-metal and can either
be found as the color red, white, or black. It
also glows in the dark!
Which element is it?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
8. You are now in a room made of a very shiny, silvery metal! The
image of Mendeleev appears and says:
“This element is a good conductor and is
used in computers and other electronics like
calculators.”
Which element is it?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
9. The 9th room is composed of a gas that has no odor, no color, and no taste! An
image of the chemist reappears and says to you:
“An atom of this element has 2 electrons in
its first shell and 5 in its second shell. This
element also makes up about 80% of air.
What is it?”
Which element is it?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
10. The next room is made of a soft, white material. So soft, it can be
cut with a knife. Mendeleev says to you:
It is a very reactive metal
that has to be stored in oil
or some other non-reactive
liquid! It does mix well with
chlorine to make us salt!
Which element is it?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
11. Next, you are transported to a room in the corner of the castle. This
room is made of a thick, inactive gas! Mendeleev flickers in to tell
you:
“This element is used to fill light bulbs and
is found in group 18. It’s atomic mass is
around 40 atomic mass units.”
Carefully make your selection to the right.
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
12. After escaping from room 11, you find yourself in a room made of a
solid substance. Mendeleev’s image appears in front of you and
says:
“This element can be found as either
graphite (like coal) or as diamonds.
Without it, jewelers would go broke and
every breath you exhale would be
incomplete! What is this room made of?
Which element is it?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
13. The next room isn’t as glamorous as the last, but it is filled with another inactive
gas. Mendeleev says to you:
This gas glows reddish-orange when an
electric current runs through it! Vegas
wouldn’t be the same without it.
Carefully make your selection to the right.
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
14. This room is made of a light, gray metal and is found in group #2. Mendeleev
appears and says:
“Because this element is strong and
hard, it is added to copper to make
it even stronger, yet more elastic!
It’s atomic mass is around 9 atomic
mass units. This element has a
super high melting point around
1300 degrees celsius!”
Which element is it?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
15. The next room is made of a hard, black, shiny material, but suddenly
it changes to a brown powder. Mendeleev appears:
“This element doesn’t conduct heat
or electricity very well, but is used in
atomic reactors. It has 5 protons!”
Which element is it?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
16. This room is made of a greenish-yellow gas! It is in the halogen
family. Mendeleev tells you:
“When combined with
sodium, this element helps
reduce tooth decay! You may
need treatments of this if you
don’t have any of this in your
water!”
Which element is it?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
17. Next, you have been transported to a room on the first floor of the Castle that is
made of a white solid! Mendeleev speaks to you again, saying:
“When combined with other elements,
like oxygen, it can be used as an antacid
like Pepto! But, used just as the metal it
has many uses! Hint: Think Milk!”
Which element is it?
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
18. You finally find yourself in the 2nd tower of the castle. The room
is made of a gas. In fact, it is the lightest and simplest of all
elements and the most abundant!
“You’re almost there,
be careful when
choosing
your
answer!”
Carefully make your selection to the right.
Li
Na
Be
P
He
S
H
Ar
O
Mg
Cl
Si
F
Ne
N
B
C
Al
Upon opening the final door out of the castle, Mendeleev appears
one last time as a real person and says:
“Congratulations adventurers. Come, have a seat and drink to your
victory with a toast of complex carbon, hydrogen,
and oxygen compounds
dissolved in a liquid
compound of
hydrogen and oxygen.”
Don’t worry, it’s just lemonade!
Wrong Answer!!
You have been sent to the dungeon with Mendeleev’s
mad scientist!! Quick – click on the ghost to start over
before you become one of his experiments!!