Question

Eka silicon is also known as:
(A) Silicon
(B) Aluminium
(C) Gallium
(D) Germanium

Answer 1

Hint: Mendeleev predicted many of the elements which are present today in the periodic table. He predicted its existence along with the properties. He did the naming of unknown elements using the terms eka, dvi & tri, 1, 2 & 3 in Sanskrit in Sanskrit and eka silicon means 1 after silicon. Try remembering what comes just after silicon in the periodic table.

Complete step by step solution:

Eka was the term introduced by D. I. Mendeleev way back in 1871 to predict the chemical elements that were still unknown at that time. Later on, as the elements were found, they were arranged in the periodic table under the corresponding names. All the eka-elements were later discovered and named as follows:
a. eka-aluminum (1875) was named gallium
b. eka-boron (1879) was named scandium
c. eka-silicon (1886) named germanium.

Mendeleev also did the prediction of analogues of manganese (later known to be Tc and Re), and tellurium (Po), iodine (At), cesium (Fr), barium (Ra), and tantalum (Pa).

The existence of germanium was predicted by Dimitri Mendeleev in 1869 from a blank space in his periodic table beneath silicon; hence the term eka-silicon.

Therefore, the correct option is (d).

Note: Germanium was later discovered by Clemens A. Winkler in 1886, in Germany, in a mineral sample taken from a silver mine. As predicted by Mendeleev, the new element’s density would be 5.5 g/$cm^3$ and its atomic weight would be 70, which were rather accurate predictions.