Science Trivia Questions — page 160

Which of these would best help a scientist discover a new planet?

• Aasking questions to other scientists
• Bmaking a model of outer space
• Ccollecting information about planets
• Dlooking at the night sky with a telescope

While performing an experiment involving four different clear liquids, a student forgets to label the test tubes. What should the student do?

• Atry to identify the liquids by smell
• Bask another student to identify the liquids
• Ccontinue the experiment with the unidentified liquids
• Dask the teacher how to dispose of the liquids

The human population is increasing every day. How does this increase in population affect the natural resources that maintain humans?

• Adecreases the amount of resources
• Bresults in less demand for resources
• Cimproves the quality of the resources
• Dincreases the supply of resources

Which type of organism converts wastes and dead materials into nutrients that can be used by plants?

• Acarnivore
• Bproducer
• Cdecomposer
• Dherbivore

Decaying plants and animals are important to an ecosystem because they

• Areduce soil erosion.
• Bcause disease in living organisms.
• Crecycle oxygen to the air.
• Dreturn nutrients to the soil.

Which material is primarily a mixture of weathered rock and organic matter?

• Aminerals
• Bseashells
• Csoil
• Docean water

Which tool should a student use to see the patterns on a small object?

• Athermometer
• Bhand lens
• Cbalance
• Dgraduated cylinder

Some people carry a mutated allele of a particular gene that makes them resistant to HIV infection and AIDS. Which best describes this type of mutation?

• Aasexual
• Bharmful
• Cunicellular
• Dbeneficial

Food contains stored chemical energy. Which units of measurement can be used to compare the amounts of energy in different foods?

• Adecibels
• Bcalories
• Cnewtons
• Dwatts

Water cycles through three states of matter on Earth. What has the greatest effect on the state of matter of water?

• Athe sun
• Bthe moon
• Cgravity
• Dtides

The metal lid on a glass jar is hard to open, so it is held under warm, running water. What causes the jar to open easily after it was held under the water?

• AThe water increased the pressure under the lid.
• BThe metal lid expanded under warm water.
• CThe water acted as a lubricant between the glass and the metal.
• DThe jar shrunk with the warm water.

Some plants grow only in specific places in the world. Some cacti, for example, grow only in deserts. Which of the following is most important in determining where a plant can grow and survive?

• Atides
• Bwind
• Canimals
• Dclimate

Identify a true characteristic of skeletal muscle.

• AIt is involuntary.
• BIt is found in the stomach and intestines.
• CIt is non-striated, composed of spindle shaped cells.
• DIt is striated, made up of long slender, striped cells.

A polished metal ball looks very shiny and bright on a sunny day. What makes the ball look shiny?

• AThe ball absorbs light and then releases it.
• BThe ball makes light.
• CThe ball reflects light.
• DThe ball absorbs light and keeps it inside.

Which of the following is not one of the defense mechanisms against viruses in humans?

• AAcid nature of the stomach contents
• BThe resistance (R) gene
• CProduction of antibodies
• DRNA interference

On a hot day, Jenny walked home from the grocery store with a bag of chocolate chips. When she arrived home the chocolate chips had melted in the bag. Why did the chocolate chips melt?

• AHeat condensed from her hand to the chocolate chips.
• BHeat transferred from the chocolate chips to the bag.
• CHeat evaporated from the bag to the chocolate chips.
• DHeat transferred from the environment to the chocolate chips.

Decomposers are important in the food chain because they

• Astop the flow of energy from one organism to another.
• Bare microscopic and other organisms cannot consume them.
• Cbreak down dead organisms and recycle nutrients into the soil.
• Dproduce their own food using light from the Sun.

The North America Nebula is named for its similarity in shape to the North American continent. It was discovered within the Milky Way by astronomer William Herschel in 1790. What was Mr. Herschel most likely observing?

• Ameteorites as Earth passed through the tail of a comet
• Ba cloud of hydrogen gas and dust where stars are born
• Ca dense cluster of stars of varying magnitudes
• Dthe explosion following the collapse of a star

The suspension system of a truck includes the

• Aengine and carburetor.
• Bwheels and axles.
• Csteering wheel and speedometer.
• Dbrakes and muffler.

A ball is dropped from the top of a tall building. As the ball falls, the upward force of air resistance becomes equal to the downward pull of gravity. When these two forces become equal in magnitude, the ball will

• Aflatten due to the forces.
• Bslow to a stop.
• Cfall at a constant speed.
• Dcontinue to speed up.

Which of the following are narrow belts of strong winds found in the upper troposphere?

• Atrade winds
• Bjet streams
• Cwesterlies
• Ddoldrums

Which of these atomic structures has the least amount of mass?

• Aan ion
• Ban electron
• Ca neutron
• Da proton

What type of conic section would this equation yield: (x^2)/9-(y^2)/4=81?

• AParabola
• BHyperbola
• CLine
• DRay

At which location does the movement of tectonic plates form isolated volcanic islands, such as Hawaii?

• Asubduction zone
• Btransform boundary
• Cdivergent boundary
• Dhot spot

How are the life cycles of a ladybug and a frog similar?

• AThe young look like the adults in both cycles.
• BThe young hatch from eggs in both cycles.
• CBoth life cycles have a pupa stage.
• DBoth life cycles begin in a water habitat.

Sound waves and ocean waves are similar in that both

• Acarry a medium from one place to another.
• Bare longitudinal waves.
• Ccarry energy from one place to another.
• Dhave the same frequency.

Sam was listing the differences between a euglena and a paramecium. Which characteristic should not be on Sam's list?

• Aonly the euglena can make their own food
• Bonly the euglena use a flagellum to move
• Conly the euglena can respond to light
• Donly the euglena have a definite shape

A "light year" refers to

• Athe amount of light required on Earth in one year.
• Bthe distance between two sources of light.
• Cthe of time it takes light to travel from Earth to the Sun.
• Dthe distance light travels in one year.

What is the body's first layer of defense against germs?

• Askin
• Bstomach
• Cbrain
• Dliver

Between 40 and 50 million years ago, the landmass on the Indian plate collided with the landmass on the Eurasian plate. What formed when these landmasses collided?

• Athe Grand Canyon
• Bthe Great Plains
• Cthe Himalayan Mountains
• Dthe Mariana Trench

Sir Isaac Newton stated that every object in the universe attracts matter. The attraction depends on the mass of an object and the distance between the objects. What type of force did Newton describe?

• Ageneralized force
• Bcentrifugal force
• Cgravitational force
• Dcentripetal force

Which had the greatest impact on the way humans heat their homes?

• ADarwin's research on the Galapagos islands
• BMendel's experiments with pea plants
• CFranklin's experiments with electricity
• DNewton's theory of gravity

What happens to the chemical energy in methane's bonds when methane reacts with oxygen and forms H_{2}O and CO_{2}?

• AIt is released as heat.
• BIt is transformed into neutrons.
• CIt increases product mass.
• DIt generates a current.

Which human activity has most negatively affected air quality?

• Aconstructing nuclear power plants
• Bgrowing crops
• Cburning coal
• Dusing solar energy cells

Climate change may be reducing the amount of ice floating on the world's oceans. How can this change most likely alter the food supply available to marine consumer organisms?

• Aby preventing organisms from responding quickly to environmental change
• Bby increasing the water's ability to separate into distinct layers
• Cby changing temperature conditions that single-celled producers require
• Dby decreasing the amount of salt dissolved in ocean water

In order to be classified as a Category 5 hurricane, the storm must have what winds speeds?

• A135mph
• B155mph
• C145mph
• D125mph

One important use of coal is to produce energy for homes. Coal can be burned and converted to

• Aelectrical energy.
• Bwind energy.
• Csolar energy.
• Dnuclear energy.

Which of these stars is most similar to the Sun?

• Athe main sequence star Alpha Mensae
• Bthe red giant star Arcturus
• Cthe white dwarf star Sirius B
• Dthe blue supergiant star Rigel

The Sun is the largest body in the solar system. The Sun is a ___.

• Amoon
• Bsatellite
• Cplanet
• Dstar

What common name is given to the medial condition, tibial stress syndrome (MTSS)?

• ACarpal Tunnel
• BShin Splints
• CTennis Elbow
• DHousemaid's Knee

A car tire runs over a can and crushes it completely. Which statement is true for the atoms of the structure of the can?

• AThe atoms remain the same.
• BThe atoms are broken.
• CThe atoms are flattened.
• DThe atoms are changed into different atoms.

How many types of blood vessels are there?

• A7
• B4
• C6
• D5

Which of these provides the best evidence that Earth's crust is divided into tectonic plates?

• Athe distribution of earthquakes on Earth's surface
• Bthe distribution of rock types on Earth's surface
• Cthe distribution of biomes on Earth's surface
• Dthe distribution of water on Earth's surface

A teacher puts a cup of coffee into the cup holder of a car. When the car stops suddenly some of the coffee spills out of the cup. Which statement best explains why the coffee spills?

• AThe stopping force on the car causes an equal and opposite reaction from the coffee.
• BThe stopping force causes the motion of the car to slow down and the motion of the coffee to speed up.
• CThe coffee stays in motion because a force from the cup holder pulls on the coffee.
• DThe coffee stays in motion because the stopping force acts only on the car.

The correct order of a plant's stages of growth and development is

• Aseed -> young plant -> mature plant
• Bmature plant -> young plant -> seed
• Cyoung plant -> seed -> mature plant
• Dseed -> mature plant -> young plant

What part of the water cycle takes place when water from clouds falls back to Earth?

• Aprecipitation
• Bcondensation
• Cevaporation
• Dtranspiration

The atoms that make up oxygen gas

• Ashare a pair of neutrons.
• Bshare two covalent bonds.
• Chave a definite shape.
• Dhave two free electrons.

Which of the following correctly explains how atmospheric nitrogen is converted to nitrogen compounds used by living organisms?

• APlant leaves convert atmospheric nitrogen to a form usable by animals.
• BSunlight converts atmospheric nitrogen to a form usable by protists.
• CInvertebrate animals in soil convert atmospheric nitrogen to a form usable by fungi.
• DBacteria in soil convert atmospheric nitrogen to a form usable by plants.

What does NP mean in instant messaging language?

• Anoogie patrol
• Bno parents
• Cnew puppy
• Dno problem

In some dry areas, large amounts of water have been pumped from underground sources where water has been naturally stored for thousands of years. If the water is not replaced, what type of land feature is most likely to result?

• Alake
• Bmountains
• Cdesert
• Ddelta