Science Trivia Questions — page 78

Which of the following foods is poorest in carbohydrates?

• APotatoes
• BPork
• CMilk
• DCheese

Humans are protected from some infections by specialized cells which produce chemicals that

• Adestroy microbes
• Ballow locomotion
• Ccoordinate movement
• Drecycle nutrients

Where do many of the basic life functions take place in organisms?

• Acells
• Bheart
• Cnerves
• Dbrain

Mrs. Gordon's class studies maple trees. Which property can the students measure with a meter stick?

• Athe length of a branch
• Bthe mass of a leaf
• Cthe temperature of its bark
• Dthe volume of its sap

A student placed a rock in a graduated cylinder containing water, causing the water level in the cylinder to increase by 20 mL. This increase represents the rock's

• Avolume
• Bmass
• Csolubility
• Dtemperature

Which is a factor that most likely would affect the climate in a particular area?

• Aamount of lightning
• Bshape of the shoreline
• Cdistance from an ocean
• Dnumber of earthquakes

To compare the hardness of different minerals, it would be BEST to find

• Athe color of the minerals.
• Bwhich minerals reflect light most strongly.
• Cthe samples that feel smoothest to the touch.
• Dwhich minerals scratch other minerals.

Synesthesia is a special condition of the brain which is characterized by which of the following unusual events?

• ASeeing colors when sleeping
• BSeeing colors when in stress
• CSeeing colors when listening to music or reading letters/numbers
• DSeeing colors generated by the brain not based on reality

Coal, oil, and natural gas have high potential energies, which makes them valuable energy resources. In order to benefit from the energy available in these fossil fuels, the potential energy is converted most directly into which type of energy?

• Athermal
• Bsolar
• Celectrical
• Dchemical

Peristalsis helps move nutrients through parts of the body by using wavelike contractions. In which system is the function used?

• Aendocrine
• Bcirculatory
• Cnervous
• Ddigestive

Generally computers are sold with RAM in 1GB denominations. Is it generally possible to add RAM to the system later to have 1.5 GB of RAM?

• AYes
• BNo

What determines if twins are identical?

• Atheir personalities
• Btheir genes
• Ctheir behavior
• Dtheir environment

Over time, coal began to form from

• Asnow and ice.
• Blots of animal bones.
• Cmany dead plants.
• Dsand and rock.

A group of workers needs to move a piano from the second floor of a building. The piano is too wide to fit through the door, so they will lower the piano to the ground through a window. Which tool would be best to help the workers lower the piano from the window?

• Awheel and axle
• Binclined plane
• Cpulley
• Dwedge

Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun, has atmosphere composed of what gases?

• AOxygen and nitrogen
• BHydrogen and nitrogen
• COxygen and hydrogen
• DHydrogen and helium

The first microscopes were built in the 1600s. Microscopes have improved since then, but still perform the same job. How do microscopes most help scientists?

• AThey make small objects easier to see.
• BThey reduce the glare from shiny objects.
• CThey make distant objects appear closer.
• DThe improve the brightness of dim objects.

From year to year, farmers rotate different crops in the fields to improve soil nutrients. Why is crop rotation also an effective pest management method?

• AIt creates crops that are pest-resistant.
• BIt allows pests to overpopulate.
• CIt interrupts the life cycles of pests.
• DIt allows chemicals to kill more pests.

Capillary walls are only one layer of cells thick. Passage of oxygen into and out of the capillaries is controlled most by which process?

• Astorage of materials
• Bbreakdown of materials
• Ccollection of waste material
• Ddiffusion of material

Some runners ate pasta before a race. The pasta was broken down into simple sugars and was absorbed by the blood stream. What body system was responsible for breaking down the pasta into small nutrients for use in the cells of the runners?

• Athe endocrine system
• Bthe excretory system
• Cthe nervous system
• Dthe digestive system

Mold is often found growing on old bread. In a food chain, mold is a ___.

• Ascavenger
• Bdecomposer
• Cproducer
• Dconsumer

Which of the following is NOT a description of compounds?

• AThey can exist in the form of atoms or molecules.
• BThey consist of atoms of two or more elements bonded together.
• CThey can be broken down into elements by chemical means but not physical means.
• DThey have properties that are different from their component elements.

For years, many astronomers thought that our solar system formed from a slowly condensing cloud of dust and gas. New evidence indicates that our solar system may have formed when short-lived, massive stars in a nebula exploded. What is most likely going to result from the new evidence?

• AThe evidence for the old hypothesis will be disregarded.
• BThe evidence will be verified before the old hypothesis is revised.
• CThe new hypothesis will be rejected due to conflict.
• DThe old hypothesis will become obsolete.

As Archie walks to the park, he wonders which route would be faster. He decides to walk to the park using different routes and times how long it takes. Which should he do to make his comparison fair?

• Awalk with a different friend each day
• Bwalk to different parts of the park each day
• Cwalk at the same time of the day
• Dwalk at the same speed each day

A student is measuring the boiling point of a salt and water mixture. He takes one temperature measurement of 105°C. Which is the best way to ensure the results are valid?

• Aadd more salt to the mixture
• Brepeat the investigation
• Cchange the volume of water
• Ddo the investigation without salt

Which of these is an example of a new substance being formed?

• Aa wall being painted
• Ba nail rusting
• Cwater changing to steam
• Dpaper being folded

Which of the following happens in our solar system?

• AThe moon revolves around Earth once per year.
• BEarth revolves around the sun once per year.
• CThe moon revolves around Earth once per day.
• DEarth revolves around the sun once per day.

Which statement best describes a learned characteristic in a dog?

• AA dog has floppy ears.
• BA dog has a dark coat.
• CA dog pants to cool itself on a hot day.
• DA dog scratches at a door to go outside.

Which of these would be the best representation of the particles in a solid material?

• AThe spectators sitting in their seats at the football stadium.
• BThe football players playing on the field.
• CThe spectators arriving at the football stadium and moving to their seats.
• DThe planes flying over the football stadium.

The rover Spirit is a robotic probe that NASA has placed on Mars. The gravitational attraction of Mars is approximately 62% less than that of Earth. Compared to its measurements on Earth, on Mars the probe has

• Athe same weight and the same mass.
• Ba larger weight, but smaller mass.
• Ca smaller weight and the same mass.
• Da smaller mass and larger weight.

When an octopus feels threatened, it can release black ink into the water. The ink MOST likely helps the octopus

• Abreathe oxygen from the water.
• Bmove quickly through the water.
• Cuse food faster.
• Dhide from predators.

What do abbreviations Rx, Tx, Hx and Sx mean?

• ARectal, Thyroglossal, Hepatic and Splenic
• BRenal, Thyroid, Uterine and Splenic
• CPrescription, Treatment, History and Symptom
• DPharmacy, Treatment Room, Hospital and Sanitorium

When a chicken egg was placed in a beaker of vinegar, bubbles formed on the eggshell. After twenty-four hours, the eggshell is no longer present. Which statement is an observation?

• ABubbles appeared on the eggshell.
• BThe egg was denser than the vinegar.
• CGravity made the egg sink to the bottom of the beaker.
• DThe vinegar caused the eggshell to dissolve.

In which object does chemical energy most likely transform into electrical energy?

• Aa flashlight
• Ba candle
• Ca mirror
• Da television

Swamp plants die, fall to the ground, and are buried by other dying plants. Approximately how long would it take for plants to possibly become a fossil fuel?

• A10,000 years
• B100,000 years
• C1,000 years
• D1,000,000 years

A student prepared a presentation to show how water changes the surface of Earth. Which presentation would best demonstrate how water changes the surface of Earth?

• Aa graph of the amount of rainfall on a lake
• Ba diagram of a river food web
• Ca model of a stream flowing down a hillside
• Da picture of fog covering a mountain valley

Which of the following is a result of the exchange of homologous chromosome parts during the process of meiosis?

• Arandom mutations
• Bdecreased number of alleles on each chromosome
• Cdecreased gamete number
• Doffspring with unique combinations of traits

The forelimb of the monkey, bat, penguin, and alligator look very different on the outside, but their skeletal structures are similar. This evidence suggests that these animals

• Alive in similar environments.
• Bshould all be able to fly someday.
• Call reproduce in a similar fashion.
• Dmay have evolved from a common ancestor.

Bones support the body. What pulls and pushes on bones to move them?

• Ablood
• Bskin
• Cnerves
• Dmuscles

What will be the most likely result for some species of animals with the continued burning of rain forests in Africa?

• Adestruction of their habitats
• Bsoil erosion
• Cimproved nutrients in the soil
• Dmore grasses as a result of burning

Which type of rock would most likely contain a fossil?

• Asedimentary rock
• Bmetamorphic rock
• Cmolten rock
• Digneous rock

An Earth year is the length of time it takes for

• AEarth to revolve once around the Sun
• Bthe Moon to revolve once around Earth
• CEarth to rotate once on its axis
• Dthe Sun to revolve once around Earth

The color in a Tortoiseshell cat can only be produced by two X chromosomes. This would mean that these types of cats are always

• Afertile.
• Baggressive.
• Cmale.
• Dfemale.

Which of the following contains most of the water on Earth?

• Athe atmosphere
• Bthe oceans
• Cwatersheds
• Dice and aquifers

In what year was the word bastard first used on TV?

• A1964
• B1974
• C1984
• D1960

This is an early computation device used in the 12th century by the Chinese.

• ANapiers Bone
• BJacquards Loom
• CAbacus
• DPascaline

Recycling newspapers is good for the environment because it

• Ahelps conserve resources.
• Bincreases the need for trees.
• Cincreases the need for landfills.
• Dhelps remove pollutants from the air.

On a small, isolated island, a hurricane destroyed all the trees that produced a large, hard-shelled nut. Which bird population would most likely decrease?

• Abirds with long, probing beaks
• Bbirds with large, pouch beaks
• Cbirds with thin, short beaks
• Dbirds with thick, strong beaks

The digestive system breaks food into simple substances that the body can use. What system carries these simple substances from the digestive system to other parts of the body?

• Acirculatory
• Bskeletal
• Cnervous
• Drespiratory

The air in front of a meteor is compressed as it passes through the atmosphere of Earth. This causes the meteor to

• Again mass.
• Bincrease in temperature.
• Cincrease in surface area.
• Dgain velocity.

Which do meteorologists use to measure the amount of precipitation that falls during a storm?

• ABarometer
• BAnemometer
• CRain gauge
• DWeather vane