Science Trivia Questions for Students — page 64

Hurricane season for the Atlantic Ocean lasts from June to November. Which factor makes an Atlantic hurricane less likely to form during the month of March?

• Acool ocean waters
• Blow humidity rates
• Cstrong wind shears
• Dweak trade winds

Submarines have explored many parts of the ocean. As submarines descend, scientists observe that there is an increase in the -

• Aamount of light
• Btypes of ocean organisms
• Cwater temperature
• Dwater pressure

Copper is an element that is used in electrical wires. What is the smallest unit of copper that still maintains the characteristics of copper?

• Athe electron
• Bthe atom
• Cthe nucleus
• Dthe proton

Which of the following statements best describes the role of gravity in the formation of stars?

• AGravity causes gases and dust particles to condense into spheres.
• BGravity cools gases and liquids until they become one solid mass.
• CGravity converts solid matter into gases and light energy.
• DGravity pushes rocks and dust particles outward from a dense center.

Students studying rocks notice that in a particular location there are many igneous rocks that are very similar. This observation best supports which statement?

• AA nearby volcano is inactive.
• BA nearby volcano is about to erupt.
• CA nearby volcano had once been active.
• DA nearby volcano is tall.

All rocks are composed of

• Ametals
• Bcells
• Cfossils
• Dminerals

Of the choices listed, which represents the natural world using a model?

• Aresearching a prairie dog community using the Internet
• Bobserving a prairie dog community in an exhibit at the zoo
• Clooking at a picture of a prairie dog community
• Dreading a book about a prairie dog community

Scientists measured the patterns of spectral lines given off by distant galaxies and concluded that almost all of these galaxies are moving away from Earth. What did the scientists observe directly?

• Athe absence of wavelengths in the visible light range
• Ba shift toward shorter wavelengths of light
• Ca shift toward longer wavelengths of light
• Dthe compression of wavelengths in the visible light range

What is the MAJOR reason Earth has seasons?

• AEarth has a moon
• BEarth has a magnetic field
• CEarth has a tilted axis
• DEarth has an elliptical orbit

Which of these statements about nonrenewable resources is true?

• AThey are inexpensive.
• BThey can take millions of years to form.
• CThey help keep the air clean.
• DThey are used because they are easily removed from the ground.

Which process forced Nevada's mountain ranges upward over the past million years?

• Aerosion of surrounding material
• Bmultiple volcanic eruptions
• Cdeposition of wind-blown sediments
• Dseismic activity along fault lines

Small grasshoppers shed their outer covering as they grow larger. Which animal also sheds its outer covering as it grows larger?

• Ahuman
• Bsnake
• Cfish
• Dfrog

Which of the following elements is the least electrically conductive?

• Atungsten
• Bargon
• Czinc
• Dsodium

Large populations of tortoises inhabited the Galapagos Islands before humans. When humans settled on the islands and introduced goats, the number of tortoise declined. What is most likely the explanation for the decrease in the tortoise population?

• AGoats consume tortoise hatchlings.
• BGoats compete with tortoises for vegetation.
• CGoats contribute to soil erosion.
• DGoats pollute water sources.

Why do dogs have most of the characteristics of their parents?

• AThey learn them by observing their parents.
• BThey eat the same foods as their parents.
• CThey inherit them from their parents.
• DThey live in the same habitats as their parents.

Neurons respond to stimuli and transmit impulses to coordinate body functions. Which of these indicates the rapid change in the membrane potential when a neuron is stimulated?

• Aaction potential
• Bresting potential
• Cthreshold period
• Drefractory period

Which motion causes the pattern of day and night on Earth?

• Athe moon rotates on its axis
• BEarth rotates on its axis
• CEarth orbits around the sun
• Dthe moon orbits around Earth

Many grass snakes are green. The color of the snake most likely helps it to

• Aclimb tall trees.
• Bfit into small spaces.
• Chide when threatened.
• Dshed its skin.

Sandy and Keith plan to move a 6-kilogram block. If they wanted to calculate the mechanical energy required to move the block, what units would they use to report their answer?

• Avolts
• Bkilowatts
• Cjoules
• Dkilometers

Which is most likely a cancer treatment?

• Aa drug that kills only very small cells
• Ba drug that kills only rapidly dividing cells
• Ca drug that kills only very large cells
• Da drug that kills only slowly dividing cells

If two objects are two meters apart, which of these changes will increase the gravitational force between the two objects?

• Adecreasing the mass of one object
• Bdecreasing the mass of both objects
• Cmoving the objects to one meter apart
• Dmoving the objects to three meters apart

Which planet has characteristics that make it the most likely planet for the discovery of extra-terrestrial life?

• AJupiter
• BVenus
• CMars
• DSaturn

What remains in the same location in the sky of the Northern Hemisphere each night?

• Athe Sun
• Bthe North Star
• Cthe Little Dipper
• Dthe Moon

The interaction of the skeletal and muscular systems to produce locomotion is coordinated by which human body system?

• Aexcretory
• Bcirculatory
• Cnervous
• Drespiratory

Which type of ecosystem has the greatest variation in temperature from its top to its bottom?

• Apond
• Blake
• Cocean
• Destuary

Tay-Sachs disease is a recessive genetic disorder. If only one gene is present, an individual is a carrier. What is the probability of two healthy Tay-Sachs carriers having a child that has the disease?

• A0%
• B50%
• C75%
• D25%

Which is an example of a different substance being formed?

• Awood burning
• Bwater freezing
• Cglass breaking
• Dmetal melting

In gym class a student kicks a soccer ball high into the air. As the ball goes upward, which type of energy is increasing?

• Amechanical energy
• Bpotential energy
• Ckinetic energy
• Dthermal energy

To help it survive, an organism has a capsule, endospore, and pili. To which group does this organism belong?

• Abacteria
• Breptile
• Cinsect
• Dmollusk

A mouse's rate of carbon dioxide output increased. Which of the following most likely happened?

• AThe mouse went to sleep.
• BThe mouse ate some food.
• CThe mouse started running.
• DThe mouse detected an odor.

Which statement best describes why a calcium-fortified juice would advertise that it is good for growing children?

• ACalcium provides energy for growth.
• BChildren need to drink a lot of fluids.
• CChildren need calcium to prevent allergies.
• DCalcium helps the growth of bones.

The correct procedure after completing a laboratory experiment is to

• Acollect and store recyclable material.
• Bput all non-reusable glass in the trash.
• Cpour all used chemicals down the sink.
• Dreturn used samples to natural settings.

Proteins are compounds formed in the cells of plants and animals. Which element is included in every protein molecule?

• Afluorine
• Bcarbon
• Csodium
• Dcalcium

In an experiment studying phototropism, students grew bean plants in labeled cardboard milk cartons. Afterward, the plants and soil were properly discarded. Which instruction line BEST conserves the remaining resources?

• Areuse the markers, discard the milk cartons
• Bdiscard the markers, reuse the milk cartons
• Crecycle the markers, reuse the milk cartons
• Dreuse the markers, recycle the milk cartons

A 0.20 kg softball travels 97 meters (m) south for 4.5 seconds (s). What piece of information distinguishes the velocity from the speed of the ball?

• AThe ball went south.
• BThe ball traveled 97 m.
• CThe ball flew for 4.5 s.
• DThe ball has a mass of 0.20 kg.

Which of the following gases do plants use in photosynthesis?

• Acarbon monoxide
• Bhydrogen
• Coxygen
• Dcarbon dioxide

Copper (Cu) reacts with oxygen (O) to form copper oxide (CuO). The properties of CuO are most likely

• Asimilar only to oxygen.
• Bsimilar only to copper.
• Cdifferent from copper or oxygen.
• Dsimilar to both copper and oxygen.

A farmer thinks that the vegetables on her farm are not getting enough water. Her son suggests that they use water from the nearby ocean to water the vegetables. Is this a good idea?

• ANo, because ocean water is too salty for plants grown on land.
• BNo, because ocean water is much more polluted than rainwater.
• CYes, because ocean water has many natural fertilizers.
• DYes, because there is plenty of ocean water.

The nose, mouth, and diaphragm are parts of which body system?

• Arespiratory
• Bcirculatory
• Cmuscular
• Ddigestive

Alicia put hydrogen peroxide and yeast in a paper cup. The paper cup felt hot, and she concluded that a reaction occurred that gave off heat. What else could Alicia do to get a more accurate conclusion?

• Ause an insulated cup rather than a paper cup
• Bchange the amount of hydrogen peroxide used
• Cuse a thermometer to measure the change in temperature
• Dtake a picture of the cup after the reaction took place

In many caves, rock formations include stalactites and stalagmites. Where does the rock in these formations come from?

• Arainwater
• Bdecaying organic matter
• Cmagma
• Ddissolved minerals

Which of the following travels from neuron to neuron as information is transmitted?

• Atransport vesicles high in ATP
• BRNA strands
• Cmechanical forces
• Delectrochemical impulses

What unit of measure should Jerry use to report the volume of a liquid?

• Adegrees Celsius
• Bmilliliters
• Ckilograms
• Dcentimeters

In order to form water, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom must be

• Amixed.
• Bdivided.
• Cbonded.
• Ddissolved.

Which of these has been controlled in an attempt to reduce the depletion of ozone in Earth's atmosphere?

• Ause of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
• Buse of mercury (Hg) compounds
• Cmethods of radioactive waste storage
• Dmethods of filtering gasoline

What is the primary function of skin cells?

• Ato generate movement of muscles
• Bto produce carbohydrates for energy
• Cto provide a physical barrier to the body
• Dto deliver messages to the brain

Modern technology has had some positive and negative effects on society. Which would be a negative effect of advances in technology?

• Ause of alternate sources of energy
• Breduction in habitat destruction
• Chuman jobs replaced by more efficient machines
• Ddecrease in production of solid waste

Ben wants to know if the amount of air in a basketball affects how high the basketball bounces. He fills three basketballs with air and drops each one three times. Which part of the experiment should Ben keep the same for each ball?

• Athe time it takes to drop each ball
• Bthe amount of air in each ball
• Cthe number of times the ball bounces
• Dthe distance each ball is dropped

A company is designing a new laptop computer. The computer must not exceed a certain weight. Which of the following is the most likely reason to have a weight restriction for the computer?

• Ato make it easier to test the prototype
• Bto reduce the cost of making the computer
• Cto make it easier to transport the computer
• Dto reduce the cost of building the prototype

Alicia gives her brother a push while he is seated on a swing. She finds that after a few seconds, she needs to push again to keep him going. The reason her brother slows down is because the mechanical energy is converted into

• Apotential energy that heats the air.
• Bchemical energy that moves the swing.
• Ckinetic energy which makes the swing slow down.
• Dthermal energy that is released into the atmosphere.