Science & Nature50 randomly selected Science & Nature questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 5th January 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | The Rankine, Delisle, Réaumur and Rømer scales are obsolete or infrequently used measurements of what? |
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Temperature | |
| 2. | What 'A' describes an instrument used to measure wind speed? |
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Anemometer | |
| 3. | In meteorology, an okta is a unit of measurement used to describe what? |
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Cloud cover (0 = completely clear, 8 = completely cloudy) | |
| 4. | What name is given to the branch of mathematics that studies relationships involving the lengths and angles of triangles? |
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Trigonometry (from Greek trigōnon, "triangle" and metron, "measure") | |
| 5. | A brand name introduced by Corning Inc. in 1915, what is the most commonly used term for borosilicate glass? |
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Pyrex (Gorilla Glass, a different material, was officially introduced by Corning in February 2008) | |
| 6. | 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) | |
| 7. | Who performed three orbits of the Earth in the Friendship 7 spacecraft on 20th February 1962? |
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John Glenn | |
| 8. | The main constituent of many blackboard chalks, hydrated calcium sulphate, has the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. What is its more common name? |
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Gypsum (from the Greek word γύψος (gypsos), "chalk" or "plaster") | |
| 9. | What is the value of Pi (π) rounded to three decimal places? |
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3.142 (3.14159265358979323846 ...) | |
| 10. | The symbol for what chemical element is derived from the Latin word argentum? |
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Silver (Ag) | |
| 11. | What 'F' describes the plant whose fibres are used to make linen? |
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Flax | |
| 12. | What unit of weight is another name for the snow leopard? |
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Ounce | |
| 13. | Polysomnography is the scientific study of what? |
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Sleep | |
| 14. | What two elements make up the alloy brass? |
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Copper and Zinc | |
| 15. | What 'F' describes the bony projection on the lower leg of a horse? |
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Fetlock | |
| 16. | What name is given to the cosmological event thought to have taken place around 13.8 billion years ago? |
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Big Bang | |
| 17. | Species found in North America are called chickadees, while species elsewhere in the genus are called what? |
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Tits | |
| 18. | What 'M' is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi? |
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Mycology | |
| 19. | With a lifespan exceeding 200 years, this Arctic-dwelling whale is the longest known living mammal on Earth. What is it called? |
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Bowhead | |
| 20. | In computing, colloquially termed a web address, what does URL stand for? |
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Uniform Resource Locator | |
| 21. | What is the only native marsupial to be found north of Mexico in North America? |
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Virginia opossum (will accept opossum / possum) | |
| 22. | Measurements of HDL and LDL are used to determine the level of what in the bloodstream? |
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Cholesterol | |
| 23. | What 6-letter word can be made using the chemical symbols for Tin, Iodine, Phosphorus, and Erbium? |
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Sniper | |
| 24. | Native to Africa, what type of animal is a vervet? |
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Monkey | |
| 25. | What 6-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for tin, oxygen, rhenium, and sulphur? |
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Snores | |
| 26. | What valuable product can be gained by mining kimberlites or lamproites? |
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Diamond | |
| 27. | Soporific drugs are more commonly known as what? |
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Sleeping pills (from Latin sopor 'sleep' and fic make - also Hypnotic: from Greek hypnos 'sleep' and tic pertaining to) | |
| 28. | In geometry, which of these angles is greatest? A. Acute B. Reflex C. Obtuse |
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B | |
| 29. | First launched from a modified Boeing 747 in 1977, though incapable of space flight, what was the name of the very first Space Shuttle? |
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Enterprise | |
| 30. | Up to 42 feet long and weighing as much as 22 metric tons, what is the largest fish in the world? |
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Whale Shark | |
| 31. | What object in our solar system is named after the Ancient Greek ruler of the underworld? |
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Pluto | |
| 32. | By what name is the Bell Boeing V-22 tiltrotor military aircraft known? |
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Osprey | |
| 33. | Name the only two islands on which orangutans can be found in the wild? |
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Borneo and Sumatra | |
| 34. | What acid has the molecular formula H2SO4? |
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Sulfuric / Sulphuric (Oil of Vitriol) | |
| 35. | Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, what 'P' is sometimes known as the "Christmas flower"? |
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Poinsettia | |
| 36. | What name is given to the female reproductive organs of a flower, comprising the stigma, style, and ovary? |
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Pistil | |
| 37. | What 'G' describes the essential component of a sundial that casts a shadow onto the dial? |
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Gnomon | |
| 38. | What is inflamed if you suffer from nephritis? |
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Kidneys | |
| 39. | Which of the 8 major planets in our solar system comes third alphabetically? |
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Mars (Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, Venus) | |
| 40. | What 'D' is the generic name of the medicine first marketed as Valium? |
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Diazepam | |
| 41. | What chemical element is represented by the symbol I? |
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Iodine | |
| 42. | What term for something lacking pigmentation is derived from the Latin word for 'white'? |
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Albino (Latin: albus) | |
| 43. | In medicine, what single word is abbreviated as ECG? |
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Electrocardiography / Electrocardiograph / Electrocardiogram | |
| 44. | What 6-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for Iron, Titanium, Sulphur, and Hydrogen? |
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Fetish | |
| 45. | What Scottish biologist is widely credited with the discovery of penicillin in 1928? |
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Alexander Fleming | |
| 46. | GRID was the name first proposed in 1982 to describe an "unexpected cluster of cases" of a disease now known as what? |
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AIDS (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) | |
| 47. | What 5-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for tungsten, silver, and einsteinium? |
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Wages | |
| 48. | What 4-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for Tungsten, Arsenic and Phosphorus? |
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Wasp | |
| 49. | What 4-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for potassium, neon and tungsten? |
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Knew | |
| 50. | Of the eight major planets in our solar system, what are the largest and smallest? |
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Jupiter & Mercury | |
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