Question

Mendeleev predicted the existence of some elements that had not been discovered at that time and left some gaps in his periodic table. What are the names that he gave to the two undiscovered elements, gallium and germanium, respectively?

• A. Eka-aluminium and Eka-silicon
• B. Eka-boron and Eka-aluminium
• C. Eka-silicon and Eka-aluminium
• D. Eka-aluminium and Eka-boron

Answer 1

The correct option is A Eka-aluminium and Eka-silicon

Mendelev named the undiscovered elements by prefixing a Sanskrit numeral, Eka (one) to the name of preceding element in the same group.

The gap that he has left for the undiscovered element that comes after aluminium is given the name Eka-aluminium.

Similarly, the gap that he has left for the undiscovered element that comes next to silicon is given the name Eka-silicon.

Both Ga amd Ge display properties as predicted by Mendeleev.