Science & Nature50 randomly selected Science & Nature questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 24th August 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | In the International System of Units (SI), what single unit of measurement is equal to 1 billion kilobytes? |
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Terabyte | |
| 2. | What 'P' is the stomach enzyme that serves to digest proteins found in ingested food? |
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Pepsin | |
| 3. | What illness is caused by excess bile pigment in the bloodstream? |
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Jaundice / Icterus | |
| 4. | What 'T' describes an electrical device used to increase or decrease voltage through inductively coupled electrical conductors? |
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Transformer | |
| 5. | What name is given to the tendon that connects the calf muscles to the heel bone? |
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Achilles tendon / Calcaneal tendon | |
| 6. | What 'O' describes a process by which molecules of a solvent pass through a semipermeable membrane from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one, thus equalizing the concentrations on each side of the membrane? |
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Osmosis | |
| 7. | Formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania on 15th February 1946, ENIAC was one of the world's first what? |
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Electronic computers (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) | |
| 8. | What is the chemical symbol for gold? |
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Au | |
| 9. | The anterior scalene, middle scalene, and posterior scalene are a group of three pairs of muscles in what part of the body? |
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Neck | |
| 10. | What system of alternative medicine was created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann, based on his doctrine of like cures like, a claim that a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people would cure similar symptoms in sick people? |
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Homeopathy | |
| 11. | What marine animal is this? |
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Cuttlefish | |
| 12. | What 'P' describes a highly magnetised, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation? |
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Pulsar (short for pulsating radio star) | |
| 13. | What is the name of the world's first "test tube baby", born on 25th July 1978 in Oldham, England? |
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Louise Brown | |
| 14. | In reference to the acidity scale, what does the "H" in pH stand for? |
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Hydrogen (the 'p' is thought to stand for 'power of' or 'potential') | |
| 15. | What name is given to the scientific device used to separate substances of different densities by rotating them at speed around a fixed axis? |
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Centrifuge | |
| 16. | What 'P' describes any chemical substance released by an animal that serves to influence the physiology or behaviour of other members of the same species? |
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Pheromone | |
| 17. | Which is largest, 3 feet or 90 centimetres? |
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3 feet (91.44 cm) | |
| 18. | In medicine, what single word is abbreviated as ECG? |
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Electrocardiography / Electrocardiograph / Electrocardiogram | |
| 19. | How many atoms of hydrogen are there in a molecule of methane? |
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4 (CH4) | |
| 20. | What is the fastest animal on two legs? |
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Ostrich | |
| 21. | The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of what? |
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Steel | |
| 22. | What 'N' describes this termite-eating marsupial native to Australia? |
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Numbat (also known as the noombat or walpurti) | |
| 23. | Which of the eight major planets in our Solar System comes fifth alphabetically? |
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Neptune (Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, Venus) | |
| 24. | What machine tool has a headstock and a tailstock? |
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Lathe | |
| 25. | In female mammals, what 'F' describes the ducts connecting the ovaries and the uterus? |
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Fallopian tubes (aka oviducts, uterine tubes, or salpinges) | |
| 26. | Native to Australia, what type of animal is a taipan? |
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Snake | |
| 27. | What chemical element has the atomic number 7? |
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Nitrogen | |
| 28. | What 'M' describes this creature? |
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Manatee (Sea Cow) | |
| 29. | 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) | |
| 30. | What animal's name is Afrikaans for "earth pig"? |
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Aardvark | |
| 31. | With wind speeds between 34 and 40 knots, a 'gale' is the description of what number on the Beaufort wind force scale? |
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8 | |
| 32. | Which scientist was dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park"? |
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Thomas Edison | |
| 33. | What is the name of the human syndrome characterised by multiple physical and vocal tics, often causing the sufferer to uncontrollably shout obscenities? |
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Tourette syndrome | |
| 34. | The nephron is the basic structural and functional unit of what organ of the body? |
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Kidney | |
| 35. | How many bones are there in an adult human hand? |
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27 | |
| 36. | Name the 18th century Swedish botanist and zoologist who pioneered the practice of assigning a two-part Latin name to plants and animals. |
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Carl Linnaeus | |
| 37. | What is the Latin name of the constellation known as the "Little Bear"? |
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Ursa Minor | |
| 38. | What 'N' is also known as vitamin B3? |
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Niacin / Nicotinic acid | |
| 39. | What 5-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for tin, actinium, and potassium? |
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Snack | |
| 40. | What 'S' is a common term used to describe the nitrates of potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium? |
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Saltpeter / Salpeter / Saltpetre | |
| 41. | 10558 = 22D16 = ___10? |
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557 | |
| 42. | What family of bird has the largest wingspan? |
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Albatross (Wandering Albatross) | |
| 43. | In terms of distance from the Sun, what planet comes between Saturn and Neptune? |
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Uranus | |
| 44. | The heaviest known bony fish in the world, with adults weighing up to 1,000 kg, what species of fish is this? |
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Sunfish / Mola (Ocean sunfish / Common mola) | |
| 45. | By what common name is acetylsalicylic acid known? |
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Aspirin | |
| 46. | Containing approximately 75% of the atmosphere's mass, and also where all weather takes place, what name is given to the lowest portion of the Earth's atmosphere? |
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Troposphere | |
| 47. | What is the name of the cartilage in the nose that separates the nostrils? |
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Septum | |
| 48. | What 7-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for iodine, rhenium, lanthanum, and neodymium? |
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Ireland | |
| 49. | What is the only great ape native to Asia? |
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Orangutan (Bornean orangutan and Sumatran orangutan) | |
| 50. | What 'B' describes this genus of bird? |
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Booby (Blue-footed, Brown, Red-footed, Masked) | |
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