(In reply to
re: Got it. by rod hines)
The primes and non-prime mentioned in the riddle are the numbers represented by the sums of the values of the atomic numbers that correspond to the atomic symbols that would be strung together to form the words.
The atomic numbers of the elements used to form the words NEVER, NOW, SHE and YOU are as follows:
He (helium) = 2
N (nitrogen) = 7
O (oxygen) = 8
Ne (neon) = 10
S (sulfur) = 16
V (vanadium) = 23
Y (yttrium) = 39
Er (erbium) = 68
W (tungsten) = 74
U (uranium) = 92
NEVER => Ne+V+Er => 10 + 23 + 68 = 101 (prime)
NOW => N+O+W => 7 + 8 + 74 = 89 (prime)
SHE => S+He => 16 + 2 = 18 (non-prime)
YOU => Y+O+U => 39 + 8 + 92 = 139 (prime)
Regarding the problem title:
At (astatine) = 85
WATSON => W|At|S|O|N => 74 | 85 | 16 | 8 | 7 !
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Posted by Dej Mar
on 2009-02-09 20:00:10 |
re(2): Got it.
