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 Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | According to the SI standard, how many bytes are there in a terabyte? |
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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)? |
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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? |
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Bromine & Mercury | |
| 4. | What colour head does a male Mallard have? |
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Green | |
| 5. | What metal element is the main constituent of pewter? |
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Tin (85–99%) | |
| 6. | What is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust? |
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Aluminium / Aluminum | |
| 7. | 4.3 light years from the Sun, what is the name of the nearest star system to Earth's Solar System? |
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Alpha Centauri (Proxima Centauri is the nearest star) | |
| 8. | The solid form of what chemical compound is known as dry ice? |
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Carbon Dioxide / CO2 | |
| 9. | What 'A' is the cause of 60-70% of cases of dementia? |
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Alzheimer's | |
| 10. | 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) | |
| 11. | What 'F' describes the bony projection on the lower leg of a horse? |
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Fetlock | |
| 12. | What is the common name for the chemical compound NH3? |
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Ammonia / Azane | |
| 13. | How many objects in our solar system are larger than the Earth? |
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5 (Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) | |
| 14. | What 'P' describes rocks composed solely or primarily of volcanic materials? |
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Pyroclastic | |
| 15. | Myology is the scientific study of which part of the anatomy? |
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Muscles | |
| 16. | Who is credited with the invention of the modern hovercraft in the 1950s? |
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Christopher Cockerell | |
| 17. | What is the common name for a periorbital hematoma? |
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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.) |
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Kepler's (Johannes Kepler) | |
| 19. | What is the common name for the chemical compound NaCl? |
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Salt (sodium chloride) | |
| 20. | Also used to describe part of the human body, what 'C' is the waxy part of a leaf? |
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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? |
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Osmosis | |
| 22. | To what genus of flowering plants do these belong? |
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Hibiscus | |
| 23. | What would you find in the sockets of your alveolar ridge? |
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Teeth | |
| 24. | At home, how might ethyl mercaptan (ethanethiol) save your life? |
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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? |
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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? |
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Skylark (Eurasian skylark Alauda arvensis) | |
| 27. | Bauxite is the world's main source of what metal? |
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Aluminium / Aluminum | |
| 28. | Which planet in our Solar System has two moons, Phobos and Deimos? |
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Mars | |
| 29. | What name is given to this engine component? |
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Camshaft | |
| 30. | Named after mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauss, what can be measured in gauss? |
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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? |
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Bakelite | |
| 32. | Deglutition is the scientific term for what common bodily function? |
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Swallowing | |
| 33. | What do you suffer from if you have halitosis? |
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Bad breath | |
| 34. | What 5-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for Fluorine, Gold and Sodium? |
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Fauna | |
| 35. | How many pounds are there in a long (US) or imperial (UK) hundredweight? |
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112 (a short hundredweight or cental is 100 pounds) | |
| 36. | What 'P' describes an acute, viral, infectious disease sometimes called infantile paralysis? |
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Poliomyelitis / Polio (Poliovirus) | |
| 37. | What is lava called before it extrudes onto the surface? |
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Magma | |
| 38. | What breed of dog is this? |
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Shih Tzu (aka the Chrysanthemum Dog or Chinese Lion Dog) | |
| 39. | In medicine, what do the initials ENT stand for? |
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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? |
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Kepler | |
| 41. | What 7-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for lanthanum, sulphur, silver, and sodium? |
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Lasagna | |
| 42. | What measurement is equal to 6,076 feet? |
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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? |
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Viking (Viking 1 and 2) | |
| 44. | What 8-letter word can be spelt using the chemical symbols for lithium, iron, sulphur, protactinium, and nitrogen? |
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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? |
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Silver | |
| 46. | The five basic tastes that can be detected by humans are generally regarded as sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and what? |
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Savoury / Umami (Japanese: うま味 "pleasant savoury taste") | |
| 47. | After elephants, what is the next heaviest land animal in the world? |
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Rhinoceros (White rhinoceros) | |
| 48. | What does a dipsomaniac have an uncontrollable craving for? |
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Alcohol | |
| 49. | Native to Australia, what type of animal is a taipan? |
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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? |
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James Watt | |
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