Science & Nature50 randomly selected Science & Nature questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 21st September 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | Who was the decibel named after? |
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Alexander Graham Bell | |
| 2. | Native to Africa, by what name are Galagos more commonly known? |
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Bush babies / Nagapies | |
| 3. | What planet in our Solar System owes its deep blue colour to the absorption of red light by methane gas in its atmosphere? |
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Neptune | |
| 4. | What chemical element is most commonly used in the filament of an incandescent light bulb? |
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Tungsten / Wolfram | |
| 5. | Ermine is a fur from the winter coat of what animal? |
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Stoat (weasel /short-tailed weasel) | |
| 6. | In physics, what 'R' describes the change in direction of a wave passing from one medium to another or from a gradual change in the medium? |
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Refraction | |
| 7. | What name is given to animals that neither possess nor develop a backbone? |
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Invertebrates | |
| 8. | In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that exceeds ___ times the speed of sound. (fill in the blank) |
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five (Mach 5) | |
| 9. | What single unit of measurement was historically defined as being equivalent to one minute of latitude? |
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1 nautical mile | |
| 10. | Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop, Marshmallow, Nougat... What comes next? |
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Oreo (Version names assigned to the Android mobile operating system 2012-2017) | |
| 11. | Among the smallest of its kind in the world, what type of animal is a Falabella? |
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Horse | |
| 12. | The pink bollworm is an insect known for being a pest in the cultivation of what crop? |
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Cotton | |
| 13. | Launched in March 2009, what is the name of the NASA space observatory currently searching for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars? |
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Kepler | |
| 14. | Also called spiny anteaters, what 'E' describes this egg-laying mammal? |
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Echidna | |
| 15. | What 'F' describes objects or materials such as clothes, utensils, and furniture that can carry infection and transfer disease to a new host? |
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Fomite / Fomes | |
| 16. | What 'P' describes this breed of toy spaniel? |
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Papillon | |
| 17. | Around what organ of the body would you find your circle of Willis? |
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Brain (a group of arteries that supply blood to the brain and surrounding structures) | |
| 18. | Native to North Africa and Gibraltar, and the only population of wild monkeys in Europe, what type of macaque is this? |
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Barbary macaque / Barbary ape / Magot | |
| 19. | What element has the chemical symbol Na? |
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Sodium | |
| 20. | What 'P' is the medical term for any infectious agent or germ? |
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Pathogen | |
| 21. | When the acronym EHF is used to describe the Ebola disease, what does the 'H' stand for? |
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Hemorrhagic (Ebola hemorrhagic fever) | |
| 22. | With toxic foliage and berries, by what name is Atropa belladonna more commonly known? |
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Deadly Nightshade | |
| 23. | In modern medicine, into how many lobes (identifiable zones) is the brain divided? |
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6 (Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal, Limbic, Insular cortex) | |
| 24. | Sequoia are the largest what in the world? |
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Trees | |
| 25. | What 4-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for Tungsten, Arsenic and Phosphorus? |
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Wasp | |
| 26. | What name is given to the study and use of sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing? |
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Ultrasonics | |
| 27. | The chemical compound HCN is commonly known as Hydrogen ... what? |
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Cyanide (Prussic acid) | |
| 28. | Spongy in appearance, what 'P' describes a porous volcanic rock made of rough textured volcanic glass? |
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Pumice | |
| 29. | What bone gets separated from the scapula when you dislocate your shoulder? |
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Humerus | |
| 30. | What is the medical term for the breastbone? |
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Sternum | |
| 31. | When listed alphabetically, what is the last chemical element? |
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Zirconium | |
| 32. | More than any other letter of the alphabet, twelve chemical symbols in the periodic table begin with what letter? |
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C (C, Ca, Cd, Ce, Cf, Cl, Cm, Cn, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu) | |
| 33. | What is the only species of deer in which both male and female have antlers? |
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Reindeer / Caribou | |
| 34. | How many eyes do most spiders have? |
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8 | |
| 35. | What 7-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for barium, platinum, iodine, and samarium? |
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Baptism | |
| 36. | In arithmetic, what 'Q' is a quantity produced by the division of two numbers? |
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Quotient | |
| 37. | What element has the chemical symbol Hg? |
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Mercury | |
| 38. | What 'A' is the cause of 60-70% of cases of dementia? |
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Alzheimer's | |
| 39. | The densest naturally occurring element, what 'O' describes this metal? |
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Osmium | |
| 40. | What 6-letter word can be made using the chemical symbols for Tin, Iodine, Phosphorus, and Erbium? |
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Sniper | |
| 41. | What 'T' is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human? |
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Turing test (originally called the imitation game by Alan Turing in 1950) | |
| 42. | In mammals, what organ contains the vestibular system? |
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Ear (enables body balance) | |
| 43. | What colour are the flowers of a tomato plant? |
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Yellow | |
| 44. | The volume of what geometrical object can be calculated using the following formula: |
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Sphere | |
| 45. | What substance is secreted from glands in the heads of worker bees and used to feed bee larvae and adult queens? |
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Royal Jelly | |
| 46. | What 'H' is the term used to describe inflammation of the liver? |
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Hepatitis | |
| 47. | Hypoglycæmia is the medical term for someone with low levels of what in their blood? |
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Sugar / Glucose | |
| 48. | An industry standard for cables and connectors, what does USB stand for? |
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Universal Serial Bus | |
| 49. | What common liquid has the chemical formula C2H6O? |
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Ethanol / Alcohol / Ethyl alcohol | |
| 50. | The asteroid belt is a series of rocks that orbit the sun, roughly between the orbits of Mars and which other planet? |
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Jupiter | |
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