Easy

1. Pure gold is how many karats? -24

2. Marble is a metamorphic rock that is often used for buildings and statues. What is the sedimentary rock that marble is commonly
derived from?
W) Limestone
X) Marle
Y) Shale
Z) Sandstone
ANSWER: W

3. Which of the following organisms is probably the most commonly studied prokaryote?
W) E. coli
X) C. elegans
Y) M. musculus
Z) H. sapiens
ANSWER: W) E. COLI

4. What is the year of a person’s death who was born in the year 580 BC and lived 63 years?
ANSWER: 517 BC (ACCEPT: 517)

5. What is the joint that is formed by the direct interaction of the tibia, fibula, and femur?
W) wrist
X) knee
Y) elbow
Z) ankle
ANSWER: X) KNEE

6. The number 4.56 × 1011 has how many zeroes?

ANSWER: 9

7. Giving your answer in grams, subtract 200 grams from 6.2 kilograms:
ANSWER: 6,000 (ACCEPT: 6 × 103)

8. Which of the following biological molecules make up the main part of the bilayer and hydrophobic region of the plasma cell
membrane:
W) oligosaccharides (read as: oh-LEE-go-SACK-ah-rides)
X) carbohydrates
Y) phospholipids
Z) proteins
ANSWER: Y) PHOSPHOLIPIDS

9. Which of the following is a human-made gas that, if released into the atmosphere, can directly act to destroy ozone in the
stratosphere:
W) chlorofluorocarbon
X) carbon dioxide
Y) methane
Z) hydrogen cyanide
ANSWER: W) CHLOROFLUOROCARBON

10. When the Earth’s interior finally cools, which of the following will stop?
W) Water cycle
X) Weathering and erosion
Y) Plate tectonics
Z) Solar energy reaching Earth
ANSWER: Y) PLATE TECTONICS

11. Which of the following does not belong to the alkaline earth metal group?
W) Magnesium
X) Calcium
Y) Potassium
Z) Barium
ANSWER: Y) POTASSIUM

12. Who is credited with creating the first vaccine?

ANSWER: EDWARD JENNER
13. Which of the following is the term for the swampy area where a river valley meets the sea?
W) Playa
X) Trench
Y) Spit
Z) Estuary (read as: EHS-chuh-wehr-ee)
ANSWER: Z) ESTUARY

14. For what did Marie Curie win the Nobel Prize in chemistry?
W) Discovering uranium and plutonium
X) Discovering radon
Y) Discovering curium
Z) Discovering radium and polonium
ANSWER: Z) DISCOVERING RADIUM AND POLONIUM

15. If there are 640 ounces of water in 5 gallons, how many ounces are in ½ gallon?
ANSWER: 64

16. Which of the following is NOT true?

W) for two pots of boiling water the one which is boiling faster has the hottest water
Y) when water changes from a gas to a liquid, energy is released
X) the process of condensation is opposite to that of evaporation
Z) absolute zero is the point where all thermal motion stops
ANSWER: W) FOR TWO POTS OF BOILING WATER THE ONE WHICH IS BOILING
FASTER HAS THE HOTTEST WATER

17. Which of the following features is not usually associated with Shield Volcanoes?
W) Broad and Gently Sloping
X) Made primarily of Highly Fluid Basaltic Lavas
Y) They are commonly considered to be the most explosive and dangerous type of volcano.
Z) Fissure eruptions are common on the flanks of these volcanoes.
ANSWER: Y) THEY ARE COMMONLY CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOST EXPLOSIVE
AND DANGEROUS TYPE OF VOLCANO.

18. Arrange the following 3 choices in INCREASING order of distance: 1 mile; 2 kilometers; 1,600 yards
ANSWER: 1,600 YARDS; 1 MILE; 2 KILOMETERS

19. A blimp or airship that uses helium as its lifting gas primarily controls its buoyancy by doing which of the following:
W) adding or removing small amounts of hydrogen gas because it is lighter than helium
X) heating or cooling the helium gas within the outside bladder of the blimp
Y) intaking or venting air
Z) producing or destroying helium gas
ANSWER: Y) INTAKING OR VENTING AIR

20. Melamine is sometimes illegally added to food products in order to increase the apparent content of:
W) protein
X) carbohydrate
Y) enzymes
Z) B vitamins
ANSWER: W) PROTEIN

21. Which of the following is TRUE regarding cooking with water:

W) rice cooking at a vigorous boil in an open pot is at a higher temperature than at a slow boil
X) pressure cookers increase the boiling point of water so that food cooks faster
Y) cooking times in Miami, Florida are longer than in Denver, Colorado
Z) live steam is used in most electric rice cookers
ANSWER: X) PRESSURE COOKERS INCREASE THE BOILING POINT OF WATER SO
THAT FOOD COOKS FASTER

22. Which of the following is most likely if a healthy hellbender (salamander) population is found in a stream:
W) they should be eradicated because they eat all the predatory fish
X) they are venomous creatures and are a threat to people
Y) their presence is an excellent indicator that the water quality of the stream is good
Z) their presence is an excellent indicator that the stream is polluted with heavy metals and PCB’s
ANSWER: Y) THEIR PRESENCE IS AN EXCELLENT INDICATOR THAT THE WATER
QUALITY OF THE STREAM IS GOOD
23. Which of the following techniques was used by Meselson and Stahl to separate samples of DNA that contained different amounts of
DNA labeled with a heavy isotope and a light isotope of nitrogen in their experiments on DNA replication:
W) reverse osmosis
X) dialysis
Y) centrifugation
Z) liquid chromatography
ANSWER: Y) CENTRIFUGATION

24. Using the noble gas abbreviation, what is the electron configuration of the S-2?

ANSWER: [Ne]3s23p6

25. Which of the following statements is NOT true about Mercury?

W) Mercury is the second densest planet in the solar system
X) Mercury travels around the Sun faster than any other planet
Y) Mercury has no magnetic field
Z) Mercury has been visited by spacecraft
ANSWER: Y) MERCURY HAS NO MAGNETIC FIELD

26. Choice A student waters a plant with salt water and measures growth over the course of two weeks. She creates a graph of her
data. Which variables should she put on the x and y axes?
W) Time on the x axis and amount of salt on the y axis
X) Amount of salt on the x axis and plant size on the y axis
Y) Plant size on the x axis and time on the y axis
Z) Time on the x axis and plant size on the y axis
ANSWER: Z) TIME ON THE X AXIS AND PLANT SIZE ON THE Y AXIS

27. Matilda plays an instrument which produces a higher pitch than the instrument her friend Matt plays. What can we say about the
sound waves of Matilda's music?
W) Matilda's wave peaks are farther apart than Matt's
X) Both Matilda and Matt's sound waves have the same wavelength, but Matilda's travel slower
Y) Matilda's wave peaks are closer together than Matt's
Z) Both Matilda and Matt's sound waves have the same wavelength, but Matilda's travel faster
ANSWER: Y) MATILDA'S WAVE PEAKS ARE CLOSER TOGETHER THAN MATT'S

28. Name the body system to which tonsils belong.

W) Digestive system
X) Circulatory system
Y) Immune/lymphatic system
Z) Excretory system
ANSWER: Y) IMMUNE/LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

29. Although this is dangerous, if you hypothetically were to breathe in xenon or krypton instead of helium, what would happen to the
sound of your voice?
W) It would be lower than when you breathe helium and also lower than your regular voice
X) It would be lower than when you breathe helium, but higher than your regular voice
Y) It would be the same as when you breathe helium
Z) It would be higher than when you breathe helium
ANSWER: W) IT WOULD BE LOWER THAN WHEN YOU BREATHE HELIUM AND ALSO
LOWER THAN YOUR REGULAR VOICE

30. If a 4.0-kilogram bowling ball is resting on a shelf 3.0 meters above a floor, how many joules of gravitational potential energy,
rounded to the first decimal place, does the ball have relative to the floor, assuming g is 9.8 meters per second squared?
ANSWER: 117.6

31. Why aren’t birds electrified when standing on power lines?

W) Because there is no difference in potential energy when they stand on top of power lines
X) Because they’re not wet
Y) Because the kinetic energy remains the same
Z) Because there is a differential in potential that allows the flow of energy through them
ANSWER: W) BECAUSE THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN POTENTIAL ENERGY WHEN
THEY STAND ON TOP OF POWER LINES

32. Babies cannot walk well. As they grow older, which of the following parts of their nervous systems will interact with their muscles,
allowing for increased coordination?
W) Somatic
X) Autonomic
Y) Sympathetic
Z) Parasympathetic
ANSWER: W) SOMATIC

33. The only way for a bird to receive an electric shock when touching power lines at the same voltage and phasing is to:
W) Touch the box where a transformer is enclosed
X) Touch both the power line and another bird simultaneously
Y) Have one leg touch a power line and the other leg touch the ground
Z) Touch two power lines at the same time
ANSWER: Y) HAVE ONE LEG TOUCH A POWER LINE AND THE OTHER LEG TOUCH THE
GROUND

34. Soundtracks of space movies frequently have sounds of ships exploding or whizzing through space. Why is this an inaccurate
depiction of space?
W) Sound waves are distorted in space so everything would sound like it was under water
X) Sound cannot travel through a vacuum
Y) Everything would have a very high pitch in space
Z) Space vibrations would muffle the explosions
ANSWER: X) SOUND CANNOT TRAVEL THROUGH A VACUUM

35. Researchers are beginning to focus on butanol instead of ethanol as a replacement for gasoline. What is the primary reason for this
shift in focus?
W) Butanol is more cost-effective than ethanol
X) Butanol is easier to work with
Y) Butanol can be used in cars without any modifications
Z) Butanol contains more chemical energy than ethanol
ANSWER: Y) BUTANOL CAN BE USED IN CARS WITHOUT ANY MODIFICATIONS