Some elemental facts of Santa contest
Enter your students’ correct solutions into a draw on or before February 1, 2015. The prize, a Tie-Dyed Lab Coat (see photo next page
and in the ad on page 31), has been donated by Educational Innovations. Get your students to help you win this prize. With your tiedyed lab coat your students will easily spot you when they are doing a lab. Go to www.teachersource.com to learn more about this
prize. Send your students’ solutions to Chem 13 News, Some elemental facts of Santa contest, Department of Chemistry, University of
Waterloo, Waterloo ON N2L 3G1, Canada; Fax: (519)888-9168; or email: [email protected].
Santa loves his elements. Fill in the blanks with elements from the periodic table.
Santa sets out on Christmas Eve to deliver candy, treats and toys to all of the well-behaved children in the world, and
sometimes coal, primarily composed of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ to the naughty children.
The North Pole is always cold with the ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ in the thermometer always below 0 ºC. One of
the best things about living so far north is the Northern Lights. The common pale yellowish-green is produced by
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ molecules located about 100 kilometres above the earth.
When Santa first started delivering the toys on Christmas Eve, his sleigh had wooden skis. In the early days, the elves
spent many hours waxing the skis with paraffin, which has the elements ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ and
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ . In the 1970s Santa upgraded his sleigh and the skis are now made of layered
fibreglass also known as silica, which is composed of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ and
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .
The sleigh itself is now high-tech and is made of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ , which also is used for the frame
in many rockets because it is strong and lightweight. For decoration, the sleigh is trimmed with ___ ___ ___ ___ , a
precious metal from prehistoric times. The bells on the sleigh are ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ , which correspond to a
Christmas carol. Gemstones also adorn the sleigh, such as rubies — crystals of alumina
( ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ oxide) with trace amounts of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .
We all know that Santa relies on Rudolph’s nose to guide his sleigh but the sleigh does have headlights. Initially Santa
tried headlamps with acetylene, a gas made of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ and ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .
There were a few close calls and not just one reindeer had its tail singed. Next he tried a halogen lamp with a quartzhalogen bulb. These had a ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ filament with a small quantity of
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ gas, having an atomic number of 53. Now Santa has the latest in light bulbs, containing the
noble gas ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ without a filament. These lights emit clean and white light.
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Santa’s boots are Wellington boots made from natural rubber, polymers of the organic compound
isoprene, composed of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ and ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .
His belt buckle is made of brass, which is an alloy of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ and
___ ___ ___ ___. In the past few years, Santa has had to decrease his ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
intake because of the risk for heart problems. Thankfully Santa has strong bones thanks to all the
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ in the milk he drinks.
Win this lab coat
Santa is known for repeating his laugh which sounds like the symbol of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
repeated three times. And of course, Santa loves word-play with the elements. In elemental symbols, he can spell out:

his last name
____ ____ ____ ____
(Can you find the two different ways to do this?)
____ ____ ____

his first name when he goes by Mr. Kringle ____ ____ ____

and his name when he is known as a Saint ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
SCIENCE
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ACTIVITIES FOR YOUR
HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES
To support high school students’ science discovery, the University of
Waterloo Science outreach team offers free in-class workshops and
on-campus activities to complement the Ontario science curriculum.
Visit our Science Outreach website for
information on:
» in-class workshops led by our outreach team
» on-campus labs, tours and activities
» the Earth Sciences Museum and their programs
» exams and other challenges for your students
» public lecture videos to support your teaching
“Students were actively
engaged. The instructors
were enthusiastic and
very knowledgeable. Our
students learned a great
deal from them!”
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» upcoming Science Outreach events
UWATERLOO.CA/SCIENCE/OUTREACH
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