First Contact

Every puzzle in the round has two answers. One answer is a chemical element, and the other answer is a word that can be preceded by a different chemical element to yield a common phrase. Taking the difference in atomic number between the element in the answer and the element in the common phrase gives a number that can be converted into a letter:

PuzzleAnswersCommon PhraseAnswer At. No.Phrase At. No.DifferenceLetter
Flag FunctionsPRASEODYMIUM STANDARDGOLD STANDARD597920T
LetterheadTHULIUM BLONDEPLATINUM BLONDE69789I
CrossudokuARSENIC SURFERSILVER SURFER334714N
Watch and LearnFLUORINE VALLEYSILICON VALLEY9145E
DualityBORON COPYCARBON COPY561A
Janky DinoscoresOXYGEN CURTAINIRON CURTAIN82618R

The answer is therefore TIN EAR, which is the reason you have been struggling to understand the aliens.