Science & Nature50 randomly selected Science & Nature questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 12th May 2025 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
|
|
|
1. | According to the SI standard, how many bytes are there in a terabyte? |
1 trillion or 1012 | |
2. | Three 1.5 volt 500 mAh batteries are connected in series. What is their combined output voltage (v) and electric charge (mAh)? |
4.5 v 500 mAh (If connected in parallel they would output 1.5 v 1500 mAh) | |
3. | At standard pressure, caesium, rubidium, Francium and Gallium become liquid at or just above 25°C, but at 20°C, what are the only two liquid elements? |
Bromine & Mercury | |
4. | What colour head does a male Mallard have? |
Green | |
5. | What metal element is the main constituent of pewter? |
Tin (85–99%) | |
6. | What is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust? |
Aluminium / Aluminum | |
7. | 4.3 light years from the Sun, what is the name of the nearest star system to Earth's Solar System? |
Alpha Centauri (Proxima Centauri is the nearest star) | |
8. | The solid form of what chemical compound is known as dry ice? |
Carbon Dioxide / CO2 | |
9. | What 'A' is the cause of 60-70% of cases of dementia? |
Alzheimer's | |
10. | In meteorology, an okta is a unit of measurement used to describe what? |
Cloud cover (0 = completely clear, 8 = completely cloudy) | |
11. | What 'F' describes the bony projection on the lower leg of a horse? |
Fetlock | |
12. | What is the common name for the chemical compound NH3? |
Ammonia / Azane | |
13. | How many objects in our solar system are larger than the Earth? |
5 (Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) | |
14. | What 'P' describes rocks composed solely or primarily of volcanic materials? |
Pyroclastic | |
15. | Myology is the scientific study of which part of the anatomy? |
Muscles | |
16. | Who is credited with the invention of the modern hovercraft in the 1950s? |
Christopher Cockerell | |
17. | What is the common name for a periorbital hematoma? |
Black eye | |
18. | Named after the scientist who published them between 1609 and 1619, three scientific laws describing the motion of planets around the Sun are known as _______ laws of planetary motion. (fill in the blank.) |
Kepler's (Johannes Kepler) | |
19. | What is the common name for the chemical compound NaCl? |
Salt (sodium chloride) | |
20. | Also used to describe part of the human body, what 'C' is the waxy part of a leaf? |
Cuticle | |
21. | 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? |
Osmosis | |
22. | To what genus of flowering plants do these belong? |
Hibiscus | |
23. | What would you find in the sockets of your alveolar ridge? |
Teeth | |
24. | At home, how might ethyl mercaptan (ethanethiol) save your life? |
Its smell (It is intentionally added to butane and propane to impart an easily noticed smell to these normally odourless fuels that pose the threat of fire, explosion, and asphyxiation.) | |
25. | What colour are mistletoe berries? |
White | |
26. | A wide-spread species found across Europe and Asia with introduced populations in New Zealand, Australia and on the Hawaiian Islands; what 'S' describes this bird? |
Skylark (Eurasian skylark Alauda arvensis) | |
27. | Bauxite is the world's main source of what metal? |
Aluminium / Aluminum | |
28. | Which planet in our Solar System has two moons, Phobos and Deimos? |
Mars | |
29. | What name is given to this engine component? |
Camshaft | |
30. | Named after mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauss, what can be measured in gauss? |
Magnetic field (aka "magnetic flux density" or "magnetic induction") | |
31. | The world's first synthetic plastic, polyoxybenzylmethylene-glycolanhydride, was patented in 1909 under what name? |
Bakelite | |
32. | Deglutition is the scientific term for what common bodily function? |
Swallowing | |
33. | What do you suffer from if you have halitosis? |
Bad breath | |
34. | What 5-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for Fluorine, Gold and Sodium? |
Fauna | |
35. | How many pounds are there in a long (US) or imperial (UK) hundredweight? |
112 (a short hundredweight or cental is 100 pounds) | |
36. | What 'P' describes an acute, viral, infectious disease sometimes called infantile paralysis? |
Poliomyelitis / Polio (Poliovirus) | |
37. | What is lava called before it extrudes onto the surface? |
Magma | |
38. | What breed of dog is this? |
Shih Tzu (aka the Chrysanthemum Dog or Chinese Lion Dog) | |
39. | In medicine, what do the initials ENT stand for? |
Ear, Nose & Throat | |
40. | Launched in March 2009, what is the name of the NASA space observatory currently searching for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars? |
Kepler | |
41. | What 7-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for lanthanum, sulphur, silver, and sodium? |
Lasagna | |
42. | What measurement is equal to 6,076 feet? |
Nautical Mile | |
43. | What name was shared by the two NASA Mars orbiters, and their respective landers that became the first to successfully return data from the surface of Mars in 1976? |
Viking (Viking 1 and 2) | |
44. | What 8-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for lithium, iron, sulphur, protactinium, and nitrogen? |
Lifespan | |
45. | What metal element is combined with a halogen to produce a light-sensitive chemical compound, most commonly used in photographic film and paper? |
Silver | |
46. | The five basic tastes that can be detected by humans are generally regarded as sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and what? |
Savoury / Umami (Japanese: うま味 "pleasant savoury taste") | |
47. | After elephants, what is the next heaviest land animal in the world? |
Rhinoceros (White rhinoceros) | |
48. | What does a dipsomaniac have an uncontrollable craving for? |
Alcohol | |
49. | Native to Australia, what type of animal is a taipan? |
Snake | |
50. | What Scottish engineer developed the concept of horsepower in the late 18th century, comparing the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses? |
James Watt | |
Back to Top Hide Answers Back to Category Index Back to Quiz Index |