A Question Of Science
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- 1.
- A.
Toxophily
- B.
Taxonomy
- C.
Taxidermy
- D.
Toxoplasma
- 2.Which of these is not a weasel - or rather, which is not a member of the weasel's family, the Mustelidae?
- A.
Otter
- B.
Wolverine
- C.
Civet
- D.
Stoat
- 3.The Apatosaurus is a genus of dinosaur formerly known as
- A.
Allosaurus
- B.
Brontosaurus
- C.
Camptosaurus
- D.
Diplodocus
- 4.In the Linnaean system of classification, the animal kingdom can be divided into about 36 large groupings called phyla. How many different phyla would you be eating in a paella with the following ingredients: chicken, bacon, ham, langoustines, mussels, monkfish?
- A.
1 phylum
- B.
2 phyla
- C.
3 phyla
- D.
4 phyla
- 5.
- A.
In the armpits of Japanese newts
- B.
On the lips of Norwegian lobsters
- C.
Among the eyelashes of Indian antelopes
- D.
Inside the guts of South African termites?
- 6.Nuclear physicists, with their famous sense of humour, have named their unit of area the "barn" because in nuclear physics terms it is really quite large. How big is a barn?
- A.
10-8 square metres
- B.
10-18 square metres
- C.
10-28 square metres
- D.
10-38 square metres
- 7.Particle physicists, being equally whimsical, are fond of inventing hypothetical subatomic particles with slightly silly names. Three of these four are genuine. Which one is the false hypothetical particle?
- A.
Leptino
- B.
Wino
- C.
Wimpzilla
- D.
Axion
- 8.A microlith is
- A.
A mineral inclusion found in plants
- B.
A very small stone tool
- C.
A bacterium that digests iron pyrites
- D.
A particle of lunar soil
- 9.A candidate for world's smallest horse was born in New Hampshire in April. At one week old he stood less than 36 centimetres and weighed less than 3 kilograms. The foal is named
- A.
Darwin
- B.
Einstein
- C.
Galileo
- D.
Bob
- 10.In 2006 a creature was discovered in Sumatra which became the record-holder as the smallest vertebrate, with adults less than 8 millimetres long. Was it a type of
- A.
Frog?
- B.
Salamander?
- C.
Carp?
- D.
Weasel?
- 11.European astronomers are planning to build a large telescope on the 3000-metre mountain Cerro Armazones in Chile. According to its name, just how large is this large telescope going to be?
- A.
Very Large
- B.
Extremely Large
- C.
Overwhelmingly Large
- D.
Unfeasibly Large
- 12.
- A.
Antares
- B.
Betelgeuse
- C.
Canopus
- D.
Deneb
- 13.The nesting seabirds on Gough Island in the south Atlantic are threatened by monstrous predators. What are they?
- A.
Giant rats
- B.
Giant bats
- C.
Giant mice
- D.
Giant lice
- 14.
- A.
Andromeda
- B.
Triangulum
- C.
The Fornax dwarf galaxy
- D.
The Sombrero galaxy
- 15.The proton beams in the Large Hadron Collider travel through a pretty hard vacuum, which is pumped down to a pressure of about 10-10 millimetres of mercury, not much more than one 10-trillionth of standard atmospheric pressure at sea level. At what height above the Earth does atmospheric pressure fall to roughly the same?
- A.
10 kilometres
- B.
100 kilometres
- C.
1000 kilometres
- D.
10,000 kilometres
- 16.Most of Earth is reassuringly solid, but which layer is a liquid?
- A.
Inner core
- B.
Outer core
- C.
Inner mantle
- D.
Outer mantle
- 17.Which of the following volcanoes is not active?
- A.
Hualalai, Hawaii
- B.
Etna, Italy
- C.
Erta Ale, Ethiopia
- D.
Merapi, Indonesia
- 18.The action of glaciers during past ice ages has given us many picturesquely craggy landscapes, but which of the following types of landform is not of glacial origin?
- A.
Ria
- B.
Esker
- C.
Corrie
- D.
Drumlin
- 19.Earth is pre-eminent among the planets of the solar system in terms of
- A.
Size
- B.
Density
- C.
Reflectivity
- D.
Magnetic field strength
- 20.If you were to use the entire planet Earth as a component in an electrical circuit, it would act as
- A.
A capacitor of 700 microfarads
- B.
A resistor of 120 teraohms
- C.
An inductor of 4Π millihenries
- D.
A simple diode, allowing current to flow north to south, but not vice versa
- 21.What marine creature bears an uncanny resemblance to an ape?
- A.
Gorilla fish
- B.
Orang-utan crab
- C.
Gibbon shrimp
- D.
Bonobo lobster
- 22.The rate of change of position is velocity, and the rate of change of velocity is acceleration. What name is given to the rate of change of acceleration, an important factor in the design of roller coasters?
- A.
Shock
- B.
Tug
- C.
Oomph
- D.
Jerk
- 23.
- A.
Floras
- B.
Hildas
- C.
Marias
- D.
Phoebes
- 24.In the UK general election of May 2010, the Brighton Pavilion seat was won by a party whose name represents electromagnetic radiation with what wavelength?
- A.
450 nanometres
- B.
550 nanometres
- C.
650 nanometres
- D.
750 nanometres
- 25.
- A.
Trenology
- B.
Tribology
- C.
Bryology
- D.
Limnology
- 26.
- A.
Antimony
- B.
Beryllium
- C.
Cerium
- D.
Seaborgium
- 27.
- A.
Calcium
- B.
Carbon
- C.
Oxygen
- D.
Hydrogen
- 28.In terms of linear size, which element has the smallest atoms?
- A.
Hydrogen
- B.
Helium
- C.
Thulium
- D.
Neon
- 29.With a melting point of 114 °C, what is thought to be the heaviest element essential for human life?
- A.
Indium
- B.
Iodine
- C.
Selenium
- D.
Samarium
- 30.According to the idiosyncratic argot of astrophysics, how many elements are not metals?
- A.
2
- B.
4
- C.
6
- D.
8
- 31.The word "aeon" can be used to mean a specific period of time, rather than some vague very long period. In that precise sense, how many millennia are in one aeon?
- A.
A thousand
- B.
A million
- C.
A billion
- D.
A trillion
- 32.The speed of light can be conveniently expressed as approximately one foot per
- A.
Fortnight
- B.
Millisecond
- C.
Microsecond
- D.
Nanosecond
- 33.In astronomy, seconds and hours can refer to angles as well as time. In those angular terms, one hour of right ascension contains how many seconds of arc?
- A.
240
- B.
3600
- C.
24,000
- D.
54,000
- 34.
- A.
One-third
- B.
One-quarter
- C.
One-fifth
- D.
One-sixth
- 35.The physicist John Wheeler once said that time is nature's way
- A.
To keep everything from happening at once
- B.
To make space more interesting
- C.
Of joining us with the big bang
- D.
Of spoiling your day
- 36.According to a survey of readers of NewScientist.com, what would be the most important scientific discovery of all time?
- A.
Signals from intelligent extraterrestrial life forms
- B.
A theory that explains how everything from quarks to galaxies works
- C.
Where the human mind comes from
- D.
A way to generate inexhaustible amounts of clean energy
- 37.According to a survey of readers of NewScientist.com, which of these gadgets would they most like to own?
- A.
A robot that could do all your household chores
- B.
A personal jet-pack to beat the commute
- C.
A helmet that would tell you what other people are thinking
- D.
A cloak that would make you invisible
- 38.According to a survey of readers of NewScientist.com, what's the best way to tackle climate change?
- A.
Use giant mirrors to reflect sunlight back into space
- B.
Place strict limits on carbon-intensive industries, such as aviation
- C.
Suck carbon dioxide out of the air
- D.
Build low-carbon power stations, including nuclear, wind and tidal
- 39.According to a survey of readers of NewScientist.com, which of these species would they most like to save from extinction?
- A.
The blue whale: the largest animal on the planet
- B.
The gorilla: one of mankind's closest relatives
- C.
The polar bear: a magnificent predator threatened by climate change
- D.
The bat: conservation should start at home
- 40.According to a survey of readers of NewScientist.com, which of these planets would they most like to visit?
- A.
Mars: I'd like to see for myself if there's life there
- B.
Saturn: The rings must be the best show in the solar system
- C.
Neptune: What's it like all the way out there?
- D.
Earth: Space travel is too scary for me!
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