Science & Nature50 randomly selected Science & Nature questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 23rd February 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 Some questions and answers may be outdated.)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 silver, rhenium and einsteinium? |
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Agrees | |
| 2. | What name was given to the first human spaceflight program of the United States? |
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Project Mercury | |
| 3. | What chemical element with the atomic number 27 can be used to create a blue pigment? |
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Cobalt (as cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide CoAl2O4) | |
| 4. | More than five times heavier than a human's, what species of whale has the largest brain on Earth? |
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Sperm whale | |
| 5. | A U.S. government agency, what does NASA stand for? |
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration | |
| 6. | What mode of transport did Christopher Cockerell patent in 1955? |
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Hovercraft | |
| 7. | The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of what? |
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Steel | |
| 8. | Also known as the 'common shoulder muscles', what 'D' describes these? |
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Deltoids | |
| 9. | What 'B' describes a camel with two humps? |
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Bactrian (in contrast to the single-humped dromedary camel) | |
| 10. | What 'S' describes a form of therapy and the Japanese word for "finger pressure"? |
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Shiatsu (Kanji: 指圧) | |
| 11. | Rigel, Betelgeuse and Bellatrix are the brightest stars of what constellation? |
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Orion | |
| 12. | What is the chemical symbol for gold? |
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Au | |
| 13. | Mostly found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia, and spanning 41 species, what common name is given to this family of birds? |
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Bird-of-paradise | |
| 14. | What element has the chemical symbol Au? |
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Gold | |
| 15. | When ρ = m/V, what does 'ρ' stand for? |
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Density (ρ is the lower case Greek letter rho, most often used for density) | |
| 16. | In technical drawing terms, what does CAD stand for? |
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Computer-aided design | |
| 17. | Partly named after its native U.S. state, what two words describe this, the world's largest domesticated cat breed? |
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Maine Coon | |
| 18. | What 16th century Polish astronomer is famed for formulating a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the centre of the universe? |
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Nicolaus Copernicus (Copernican Revolution) | |
| 19. | Used to measure an absorbed dose of ionizing radiation, what SI unit is represented by the symbol Gy? |
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Gray | |
| 20. | How many planets in our solar system are larger than the Earth? |
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4 (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) | |
| 21. | Visible throughout the world, what is the name of this constellation? |
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Orion | |
| 22. | How is the medical condition dyspepsia better known? |
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Indigestion or upset stomach | |
| 23. | The becquerel (symbol Bq) is the SI derived unit of what? |
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Radioactivity | |
| 24. | By what name is calcium oxide (CaO) more commonly known? |
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Quicklime / Burnt Lime | |
| 25. | In geometry, what 'V' describes a point where two or more curves, lines, or edges meet? |
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Vertex (plural: vertices or vertexes) | |
| 26. | Used for many years as a treatment for malaria, what is extracted from the bark of the South American cinchona tree? |
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Quinine | |
| 27. | When listed alphabetically, what is the last chemical element? |
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Zirconium | |
| 28. | In modern astronomy, what constellation is known as "the Chained Lady" or "the Chained Woman"? |
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Andromeda | |
| 29. | Named for the markings on its back and sides, what name is given to this, the smallest and most common seal in the Arctic? |
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Ringed seal | |
| 30. | What is the collective noun for a group of crows? |
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Murder / Horde | |
| 31. | What astronomical structures get their name from the Greek word for "milky"? |
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Galaxies (Greek γαλαξίας galaxias) | |
| 32. | In degrees Fahrenheit, what is the boiling point of water? |
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212 (211.9 °F / 99.97 °C ) | |
| 33. | 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 | |
| 34. | A fine imaging device, what do the initials SEM stand for? |
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Scanning Electron Microscope | |
| 35. | In the diagram below, What are the axes labelled A. and B. called? |
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A. Pitch B. Yaw | |
| 36. | What name is given to a second full moon occurring in the same calendar month as another? |
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Blue moon (as in the expression "once in a blue moon") | |
| 37. | How many planets in our solar system are bigger than Earth? |
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4 (Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus) | |
| 38. | What four-letter word is used to describe a female red deer? |
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Hind | |
| 39. | What 'C' is the common name for this flower? |
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Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus / bachelor's button) | |
| 40. | What element has the atomic number 6? |
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Carbon | |
| 41. | What English chemist invented the miners' safety lamp and also discovered sodium and potassium? |
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Sir Humphry Davy | |
| 42. | In an electrical circuit diagram, what device is represented by either of these symbols? |
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Resistor | |
| 43. | 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 | |
| 44. | In computing, what does the letter 'S' stand for in 'ASCII'? |
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Standard (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) | |
| 45. | What major planet in our solar system has a mean distance of approximately 93 million miles from the Sun? |
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Earth | |
| 46. | What type of bird is this? |
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Pheasant (Common Pheasant / Ring-necked Pheasant) | |
| 47. | What was the surname of the man who invented vulcanised rubber in 1839? |
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Goodyear (Charles Goodyear) | |
| 48. | What planet in our solar system is named after the Roman messenger to the Gods? |
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Mercury | |
| 49. | At 47.87 km/s, what planet in our solar system has the fastest orbital speed? |
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Mercury | |
| 50. | What creatures live in a formicary? |
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Ants | |
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