Row 5: rubidium to xenon
Row 5: rubidium to xenon: a chapter of The Periodic Table Book, with each element's symbol, number and story.
18 cards · Science
Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the chapter a few at a time.
Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 27 Oct 2026
Sources: Periodic Table of Elements (IUPAC), Periodic Table (Royal Society of Chemistry)
Preview
Symbol: Rb
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Rubidium
Learn more: Found in 1861 by the red lines in its light; some atomic clocks use it to keep time.
Symbol: Sr
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Strontium
Learn more: Named after Strontian, a village in Scotland where its ore was found; it burns crimson.
Symbol: Y
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Yttrium
Learn more: One of four elements named after Ytterby in Sweden, with ytterbium, terbium and erbium.
Symbol: Zr
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Zirconium
Learn more: Cubic zirconia, a cheap diamond look-alike, is made from it; it also wraps nuclear fuel rods.
Symbol: Nb
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Niobium
Learn more: Named after Niobe because it is so like tantalum, named after her father; it is used in superconducting magnets.
About this topic
The fifth row runs from rubidium to xenon. It holds silver, the best conductor of electricity, tin, which gave the Bronze Age its metal, and iodine, added to salt for a healthy thyroid. It also holds technetium, the first element ever made by people, and several elements named after places: yttrium after a Swedish village, ruthenium after Russia and tellurium after the Earth itself. In its middle sit metals that clean car exhaust.
This is a chapter of The Periodic Table Book. Each card shows a symbol or an atomic number and asks for the element's name, with a hint before you answer and a fact after.
All 18 cards
Symbol: Rb
Rubidium
Learn more: Found in 1861 by the red lines in its light; some atomic clocks use it to keep time.
Symbol: Sr
Strontium
Learn more: Named after Strontian, a village in Scotland where its ore was found; it burns crimson.
Symbol: Y
Yttrium
Learn more: One of four elements named after Ytterby in Sweden, with ytterbium, terbium and erbium.
Symbol: Zr
Zirconium
Learn more: Cubic zirconia, a cheap diamond look-alike, is made from it; it also wraps nuclear fuel rods.
Symbol: Nb
Niobium
Learn more: Named after Niobe because it is so like tantalum, named after her father; it is used in superconducting magnets.
Symbol: Mo
Molybdenum
Learn more: Its ore was long mistaken for lead or graphite; it now strengthens steel for tools and engines.
Element 43
Technetium
Learn more: Made in 1937, its name means artificial; hospitals use it for scans of bones and organs.
Symbol: Ru
Ruthenium
Learn more: Ruthenia is a Latin name for Russia; a little of it makes platinum jewellery harder.
Symbol: Rh
Rhodium
Learn more: Its name means rose, for its pink salts; it cleans car exhaust in catalytic converters.
Symbol: Pd
Palladium
Learn more: Named after the asteroid Pallas; it soaks up hydrogen like a sponge.
Symbol: Ag
Silver
Learn more: Ag is from argentum, Latin for silver; it conducts electricity better than any other element.
Symbol: Cd
Cadmium
Learn more: It is toxic, so it has been phased out of most batteries and paints; painters loved cadmium yellow.
Symbol: In
Indium
Learn more: Indium tin oxide is a clear coating that conducts electricity, used on almost every touchscreen.
Symbol: Sn
Tin
Learn more: Sn comes from stannum, its Latin name; mixing it with copper gave the Bronze Age its metal.
Symbol: Sb
Antimony
Learn more: Ancient Egyptians used its ore, stibnite, as black eyeliner.
Symbol: Te
Tellurium
Learn more: Tellus is Latin for Earth; it is used in some kinds of solar panel.
Symbol: I
Iodine
Learn more: Too little of it harms the thyroid gland, so many countries add it to table salt.
Element 54
Xenon
Learn more: A rare noble gas used in bright car headlights and in ion engines that push spacecraft.
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