Christmas preparations are well underway by now, but have you been paying attention to your chemistry? Of course you have! Well, let’s see… (answers at the bottom, this is a low-tech quiz).

1. Let’s start with an easy one. In the nativity, the three wise men allegedly turned up at the stable with three pressies for little Jesus. But which chemical symbol could represent one of the gifts?
   a) Ag
   b) Au
   c) Al
   
2. On the topic of chemical symbols, which christmassy word can you make out of these elements?
   carbon, radium, carbon (again), potassium, erbium, sulfur

   

3. It doesn’t look like snow is very likely in most of England this year, but we can dream. And while we’re dreaming: why do snowflakes always have six sides?
   a) because water has three atoms and they join up to make six.
   b) it’s usually something do with hydrogen bonding.
   c) they don’t, it’s a myth.

   

4. Where would you be most likely to find this molecule at Christmas?
   a) In the Christmas cookies.
   b) In the festive stilton.
   c) In the Christmas turkey.
   
5. Mmm Christmas cookies! But which other chemical substance is often added to cakes and biscuits to help them rise?
   a) sodium carbonate.
   b) sodium hydrogen carbonate.
   b) calcium carbonate.

   

6. Let’s think about the booze for a moment. Which fact is true about red wine?
   a) It tastes significantly different to white wine.
   b) Mixing it with other drinks will make your hangover worse.
   c) It’s mostly water.
   
7. And why are beer bottles usually brown or green?
   a) Because these colours block blue light.
   b) Because in the old days beer was often a funny colour, and the coloured glass disguised it.
   c) Because it’s good luck.
   
8. Where would you be most likely to find this molecule at Christmas?
   a) In the Christmas cake
   b) In the mulled wine
   c) In the wrapping paper

   

9. Let’s turn to New Year for a moment. What makes party poppers go pop?
   a) Gunpowder
   b) Silver fulminate
   c) Armstrong’s mixture

   

10. And who doesn’t love a firework or two? So, which substance is used to produce a blue colour?
    a) Sodium bicarbonate
    b) Copper chloride
    c) Magnesium powder

    

ANSWERS

1. b) Au – gold
2. CRaCKErS!
3. b) – hydrogen bonds form between the oxygen atom of one water molecule and the hydrogen atom of another molecule, causing the molecules to link up into hexagon shapes (pretty much any question to do with water can be answered with ‘something to do with hydrogen bonding’).
4. a) – in the cookies, it’s cinnamaldehyde, which is the molecule that gives cinnamon it’s flavour and smell.
5. b) – sodium hydrogen carbonate, also known as sodium bicarbonate, or just ‘bicarb’, breaks down when heated and forms carbon dioxide. It’s the formation of this gas which causes mixtures to rise.
6. c) – the flavour and colour components of wine only make up about 2% of its volume. If we assume 12% alcohol, then the wine is 86% water. Still, probably best not to glug on a wine bottle after your morning run. On the other two points, there isn’t much evidence that mixing drinks makes hangovers worse (unless, as a result, you drink more alcohol), although some specific types of drinks may cause worse symptoms than others. As for taste, in this paper researchers describe an experiment where they gave 54 tasters white wine dyed red with food colouring. The tasters then went on to describe it as a red wine, suggesting that appearance was much more important than actual taste.
7. a) – the coloured glass used in beer bottles is there to block blue light. These wavelengths can cause some of the substances in beer to react with each other, resulting in unpleasant flavours.
8. c) – in the wrapping paper. It’s cellulose, the main constituent of paper.
9. c) – It’s usually Armstrong’s mixture in party poppers, which is a highly sensitive primary explosive containing red phosphorous (eek). Did I trick any of the chemists out there? Silver fulminate is used in Christmas crackers.
10. b) – Copper chloride, and also copper oxide and copper carbonate when combined with other things. Sodium bicarbonate produces yellow, and magnesium is white.

How many did you get right? Tell me in the comments, or pop along to The Chronicle Flask’s Facebook page and brag there. Merry Christmas!