Q:
Of the postal abbreviations for the fifty US states, fifteen are also symbols for chemical elements on the periodic table, as in NE for Nebraska and Ne for Neon. If you assign a number to each letter of the alphabet, A=1, B=2, etc., there is a numerical property unique to one of these chemical elements. What is it?
A:
There are multiple answers to the puzzle if you look only an the set of numbers. However, looking at the relationship between the numbers and their respective chemical elements narrows the field substantially.
Aluminum (Al) is the only element that has this property:
Assign the numerical values and A(1) + L(12) = 13, which is the atomic number of aluminum.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 3 prime numbers, 2 perfect squares and a Fibinotchi number (which happens to be a perfect square.
ReplyDeleteAlso 2 palindromes, one of which is also a perfect square.
ReplyDeleteI have a different answer than Lorenzo. My answer comes after 15 cuts at 15 states. Also, this answer has another unique property - just ask your brother-in-law Smith.
ReplyDeleteAnd only one is divisible by 10.
ReplyDelete"Fibinotchi"?!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I failed to find every one of the fifteen, but I still fear being chastised in a derogatory manner for giving something away.
Paul, let's make that Fibonacci. Sorry! Someone who calls himself Lorenzo should know better!
ReplyDeleteLorenzo, while I can see you're having as much fun with this puzzle as I did, in the end, I don't think your answer will add up. As for Fibinotchi, what's in a name?
ReplyDeleteKen, does your answer have anything to do with today? Show me something.
Speaking of adding up, 13 is a lucky atomic number.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if my answer (the other perfect square) has anything to do with today. My answer is the only one that is a Central Polygonal number; it is also the only Smith number.
ReplyDeleteI'll stand by my previous answer:
ReplyDelete1 + 12 = 13 = atomic number of the abbreviated element.
TB: If MSSB was a hint, I didn't get it!
You da man, Lorenzo!
ReplyDeleteThe fifteenth element/state finally found me; and while it has intriguing, almost captivating, qualities; the title of this puzzle, and one of Tommy's comments (which may be lost for all eternity in the "blog hole") imply to me that we have the correct answer.
Nyah-ha-haa!
Lorenzo (and ken), thought ken might have gotten it from the comment of 'another unique property' and a relationship with Smith. If the property was 'the answer is the only element that is also a man's name' and the relation to Smith was Morgan, that gave me Al Morgan.
ReplyDeleteA quick Google search revealed Al Morgan was a producer of the "Today Show" in the 60's.
My response to ken was "Does your solution have anything to do with today? Show me something."
I was wrong on both assumptions so my convoluted reasoning only made sense to me, which is often the case.