Science & Nature50 randomly selected Science & Nature questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 13th July 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | What 6-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for sulphur, gold, nitrogen, and arsenic? |
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Saunas | |
| 2. | With regard to sleep patterns, what does REM stand for? |
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Rapid Eye Movement | |
| 3. | What two body parts are connected by the Eustachian tube? |
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Nose and ear | |
| 4. | Sometimes abbreviated on the internet as TBL, who was the inventor of the World Wide Web? |
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Tim Berners-Lee | |
| 5. | On the endangered list since 2009, what animal is this? |
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Tasmanian Devil | |
| 6. | In the context of PTZ security cameras, what does PTZ stand for? |
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Pan-Tilt-Zoom | |
| 7. | Sugars, starches and fibres are all made up from what three chemical elements? |
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Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (Carbohydrates) | |
| 8. | What is the more common term for the medical condition hydrocephalus? |
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Water on the brain | |
| 9. | What colour are the flowers of a tomato plant? |
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Yellow | |
| 10. | How many feet are there in a fathom? |
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6 | |
| 11. | What 'R' describes an alternative therapy involving the physical act of applying pressure to the feet, hands, or ears? |
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Reflexology (Zone therapy) | |
| 12. | Aboard a U.S.-launched V-2 rocket on 20th February 1947, what were the first animals sent into space? |
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Fruit flies | |
| 13. | What alkaline earth metal has the atomic number 12 in the periodic table? |
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Magnesium | |
| 14. | In the computer world, what is DTP an abbreviation of? |
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Desktop publishing | |
| 15. | Succeeding the Enterprise prototype, how many operational Space Shuttle orbiters did NASA build? |
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5 (Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour) | |
| 16. | What is the fastest animal on two legs? |
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Ostrich | |
| 17. | What 'E' is the medical term for a blockage inside a blood vessel? |
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Embolism | |
| 18. | Protium, deuterium, and tritium are isotopes of what chemical element? |
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Hydrogen (1H, 2H (D), and 3H (T)) | |
| 19. | To what family of amphibians do mudpuppies belong? |
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Salamander | |
| 20. | Rhinotillexis is the medical term for what bad habit? |
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Nose-picking | |
| 21. | What 'E' describes the system of glands that secrete hormones directly into the the circulatory system? |
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Endocrine (in contrast, exocrine glands release into cavities inside the body or its outer surface) | |
| 22. | What chemical element takes its name from the Ancient Greek word for pale green? |
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Chlorine (Ancient Greek: χλωρóς khlôros) | |
| 23. | What 'C' describes the seven vertebrae in the human neck? |
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Cervical | |
| 24. | What type of animals are studied by a lepidopterist? |
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Butterflies / Moths | |
| 25. | Myosotis is a genus of plants colloquially known in the northern hemisphere as what? |
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Forget-me-not / Scorpion grass | |
| 26. | What common name is given to this nocturnal gliding possum? |
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Sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) | |
| 27. | What Apollo moon mission was the first to carry a Lunar Roving Vehicle? |
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Apollo 15 | |
| 28. | What is the smallest angle between the hands of a clock at half past one? |
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135° | |
| 29. | What element is the main component of bronze and brass? |
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Copper | |
| 30. | How many watts are there in a gigawatt? |
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1 billion (109 / 1,000,000,000) | |
| 31. | What is the common name for a periorbital hematoma? |
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Black eye | |
| 32. | What organs of the body are affected by exotropia? |
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Eyes | |
| 33. | What single word describes this equation? |
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Photosynthesis (Carbon Dioxide + Water → Sugar + Oxygen) | |
| 34. | Native to India, what 'G' describes this fish-eating crocodile? |
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Gharial / Gavial | |
| 35. | Launched in 1977, the only spacecraft to have visited the two ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, is called |
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Voyager | |
| 36. | What is the smallest perfect number? |
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6 (A positive integer that is equal to the sum of its positive divisors, excluding the number itself.) | |
| 37. | In both Imperial and U.S. customary units, what single unit is equal to a quarter of a pint? |
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Gill (5 Imperial fl oz or 4 US fl oz) | |
| 38. | A lack of what vitamin causes Nyctalopia, or Night Blindness? |
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A | |
| 39. | What 'A' describes the genus of mosquito whose species transmit dengue fever, yellow fever, West Nile fever, the Zika virus, and chikungunya? |
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Aedes (Asian Tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus pictured ) | |
| 40. | Of the 8 major planets in our solar system, which has the longest orbital period around the Sun? |
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Neptune (164.79 Earth years) | |
| 41. | What was the surname of the German engineer who invented and patented the first rotary engine? |
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Wankel (Felix Wankel) | |
| 42. | What 'G' describes the essential component of a sundial that casts a shadow onto the dial? |
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Gnomon | |
| 43. | What is the common name for the chemical compound NH3? |
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Ammonia / Azane | |
| 44. | Measurements of HDL and LDL are used to determine the level of what in the bloodstream? |
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Cholesterol | |
| 45. | What type of animal is a California sheephead? |
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Fish | |
| 46. | 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 | |
| 47. | What 'H' is the term used to describe inflammation of the liver? |
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Hepatitis | |
| 48. | In the correct order, what three words are missing from this diagram? |
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Camber, Toe, Caster | |
| 49. | What is the more common name for the clavicle? |
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Collarbone | |
| 50. | What 'S' describes a cylindrical coil of wire acting as a magnet when carrying electric current? |
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Solenoid | |
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