The Science Trivia Quiz

daveirl · 30-01-2003 08:44PM #1

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Raptor · 31-01-2003 10:13PM

Some guesses, some random selections

1 d)combustion
2 honestly havent a clue
3 b)
4 d)7/8 (.875)
5 c)cryometer (cryogenics etc, just kinda seems right)

My "interesting" questions

Maths
You throw drop and object, A, of mass m straight down, and fire an identical mass, B, m horizontally at the same instant. Ignoring air resistance and uneven ground, what happens?
a) A hits the ground first
b) B hits the ground first
c) They hit the ground at the same time
And why?

Chemistry
What are the 3 isotopes of hydrogen called?

Physics
What quantum number is given to an electron to describe its spin?

Kinda lame questions, ill post more if i think of any.

seamus · 31-01-2003 10:23PM

1. Combustion
2. Dunno
3. c?
4. 7/8, if I know what correctly what a periodic non-terminating decimal is

5. Cryometer

Answer to Raptor's maths question:

A hits the ground first. Why? The path taken by B will be in an arc, more specifically, in a quarter-circle shape. The path taken by A will be equal to the radius of that whole circle. So some simple maths - the distance taken by B = (2xPIxr)/4 = (PIxr)/4 ~= 1.571r

Therefore the distance B travels is just more than 1.5 times the distance A travels, so A must hit the ground first (If A and B were thrown at the same speed)

Specky · 01-02-2003 12:29AM

1. combustion
2. Transistor
3. (a) perhaps
4. erm...7/8 I tink
5. hmmm...cryometer I tink again

yay....liven up the science board!!

Woden · 01-02-2003 12:52AM

eh hydrogen isotopes,

hydrogen, deuterium and tritium (check spelling)

Quantum number to describe electron ms= +/- 1/2 i think

must admit to being stumped by a couple of the 1st ones

Woden · 01-02-2003 01:39AM

couple of my own you's have probably heard before.

Maths
Whats so special about the number 26?

Physics
Name the radiation produced when something travels faster then the speed of light in a medium?

Chemistry
Whats the repulsion that stops you pushing two atoms (say a diatomic molecule) closer together? (Note its not electrostatic)?

daveirl · 01-02-2003 03:27AM

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daveirl · 01-02-2003 03:34AM

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Woden · 01-02-2003 10:03PM

hints and clarification,

Name the radiation produced when something travels faster then the speed of light in a medium?

particles can travel faster then the speed of light in media other then vacuum, e.g water what happens in this situation?

Whats the repulsion that stops you pushing two atoms (say a diatomic molecule) closer together? (Note its not electrostatic)?

yeap i want to know what stops you pusing to hydrogen atoms in a H2 molecule together as it has been shown that the electrostatics sums to 0 i believe. its is another interaction which causes the repulsion.

Woden · 01-02-2003 10:06PM

6. i'll try sedimentary
7. No idea
8. Try hydrogen
9. 14+15+16
10. i'll try b

daveirl · 02-02-2003 12:05PM

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The_Bullman · 02-02-2003 12:54PM

Yup, the speed of light in a vacuum is the fastest thing there is.

You must be thinking of sound, which speeds up as the medium gets denser, though can't exist in a vacuum

Specky · 02-02-2003 01:57PM

I agree on the speed of light issue but there are arguments that contradict this because of the quantum paradox issue.

My memory is a little rusty on this issue so maybe someone else can help out, but when you're considering an electromagnetic wave in a waveguide, the wave front is travelling at the speed of light, so if the waveguide is bent, the outer edge of the wavefront actually has to be travelling faster than the speed of light in order to keep up.

This applies in fibre optics too.

maybe someone can un-rustify my quantum physics/electromagnetic waves memory??

Woden · 02-02-2003 02:50PM

i'm not trying to get into a speed of light discussion here. i agree the fastest possible speed (known) is the speed of light in vacuo. However in a media such as water the speed of light slows down. In this situation if you have for example particles moving faster then the speed of light in water a radiation is produced known as cherenkov radiation and can loosely be thought of of the equivalent in light terms of a sonic boom

check it out.

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SpeedOfLight/cherenkov.html

daveirl · 02-02-2003 05:58PM

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daveirl · 02-02-2003 06:02PM

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Woden · 02-02-2003 06:53PM

Answers:

Whats so special about the number 26?

Its the only number that lies between and perfect square and a perfect cube. 5^2=25, 3^3=27

Name the radiation produced when something travels faster then the speed of light in a medium?

As mentioned its Cherenkov Radiation.

Whats the repulsion that stops you pushing two atoms (say a diatomic molecule) closer together? (Note its not electrostatic)?

The reason you can't push two atoms right through each other is electron spin. The probability of two electrons with the same spin occupying the same region of space is zero (Pauli exclusion principle) so when you push to atoms together the electron "clouds" overlap and there is a repulsion due to like spin.

thedrowner · 02-02-2003 11:54PM

i can't believe i nearly have a degree in this and i can't answer most of those! (well....i'm not studying any of them anymore so at least i have some crappy excuse)

the only question i can think of to put forward at the moment is....what's a palindrome? (it's a genetics question)

i could try design a cross. i loved working them out.

Gordon · 03-02-2003 12:03AM

lol! that's hard core cross questioning!

Sorry:
Cryogenics because it means cold in Greek (I know the answer has been said, just a nice thing to know)

Woden · 03-02-2003 01:10AM

palindrome doesnt that have some meaning as well to do with words, perhaps words that spell the same backwards as well as forwards or is that something else? i could be just typing out my arse though. i'll look into it.

Woden · 03-02-2003 01:14AM

some online dictionary says

Palindrome is

1) A word, phrase, verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward. For example: A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
2) A segment of double-stranded DNA in which the nucleotide sequence of one strand reads in reverse order to that of the complementary strand.

i'll sleep better tonight knowing that.

Woden · 03-02-2003 01:26AM

New questions

Chemistry:
What does H20 have a higher boiling point 100C then H2S at 60C. even though H2S is the heavier molecule?

Physics:
What property of H20 allows ice skating to be possible?

Astronomy:
What is the closest star to the out of our solar system?

thedrowner · 03-02-2003 01:42PM

data is god: if i see you today you're going to get an awful slagging for admitting that

i just dont think its fair for someone to know EVERYTHING even when they haven't a clue and they're only just guessing they still hit upon the right answers!

daveirl · 03-02-2003 09:44PM

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Woden · 04-02-2003 12:40AM

"data is god: if i see you today you're going to get an awful slagging for admitting that"

admitting what?

Answers:

Chemistry:
What does H20 have a higher boiling point 100C then H2S at 60C. even though H2S is the heavier molecule?

Yeap its hydrogen bonding and a similar arguement applies to why NH3 has a higher boiling point then PH3.

Astronomy:
What is the closest star to the out of our solar system?

yeap proxima centuari is the closest star outside our solar system or alpha centuari C as its also known, alpha centuari A and B is a binary system just a little further away.

Physics:
What property of H20 allows ice skating to be possible?

The physics of ice-skating, water in its solid state is less dense then in its liquid form (this can also be attributed to hydrogen bonding if i remember correctly). Pressure equals Force/Area, so with an ice skate you have a large force over a small area and hence a large pressure, this pressure applied to the ice causes it to basically collapse into an less dense form i.e water, and this thin layer of water is then a lubricant for skating.

Woden · 04-02-2003 12:48AM

daveirl scores 2/3

Physics:
Name the three different types of neutrino (excluding there corresponding anti-particles)

Astronomy:
If light from a galaxy is "blueshifted", is the galaxy travelling
a) towards us?
b) away from us?

Chemistry:
Why are some compounds coloured and others are not?

Chemistry:
A compound is said to be paramagnetic if it contains:
a) no unpaired electrons
b) a filled d-orbital
c) unpaired electrons
d) none of these what the hell are you talking about

sceptre · 04-02-2003 01:46AM

Originally posted by Dataisgod
binary system just a little further away.

"Just a little further away" being 13000AU if I remember rightly - that's 1209 billion miles (A and B are 23AU (2.1 billion miles) away from each other)

Everything is relative I suppose

Woden · 04-02-2003 10:14PM

of course Sceptre its all relative

Congoose · 05-02-2003 11:27AM

Originally posted by Dataisgod

Astronomy:
If light from a galaxy is "blueshifted", is the galaxy travelling
a) towards us?
b) away from us?

If "blueshifted" means that we see the light as blue, then I think it must be b) travelling towards us because when wave sources approach us, the wavefronts are squeezed together at the front and pulled further apart at the back. Blue light has shorter wavelength than the other constituent colours, so we see the light as blue. (Not sure!)

bonkey · 05-02-2003 11:56AM

Its difficult trying to think of questions that can't be answered by a quick google search, so I didnt really bother trying

1) Light, travelling in a vacuum, can neither accelerate nor decelerate. True or false?

2) The planet in our solar system farthest from the sun is :

3) Why are black holes not truly "black", and what is this known as?

4) If you have two containers, one (A) filled with a litre of blue liquid and the other (B) with a litre of redliquid . The liquids are miscable. You take 10ccs out of A, and add it to B. Then, *without stirring*, you take 10ccs out of B, and add it to A. Does A contain more of B than B does of A, or vive versa?

5) You have ten freezers operating in an enclosed room with their doors open. What is the effect on the room temperature, and why.

6) You have three lightswitches connected to three lightbulbs (in a different room). You are only allowed to look at or examine the lightbulbs once. What is the minimum number of light-switch "switches" you need to make in order to be sure you know which switch connects to which bulb, and how do you do it.

7) Why can an immovable object never meet an irresistable force?

jc

bonkey · 05-02-2003 12:08PM

Originally posted by Dataisgod
Physics:
Name the three different types of neutrino (excluding there corresponding anti-particles)

Astronomy:
If light from a galaxy is "blueshifted", is the galaxy travelling
a) towards us?
b) away from us?

Chemistry:
Why are some compounds coloured and others are not?

Chemistry:
A compound is said to be paramagnetic if it contains:
a) no unpaired electrons
b) a filled d-orbital
c) unpaired electrons
d) none of these what the hell are you talking about

Physics : Electron, muon and tau.
Astronomy : Towards us - away would be red-shifting.
Chemistry1 : I would imagine its connected to the absorbtion bands of the constituent elements, but thats probably wrong.
Chemstry2 : no clue, but I'd guess c or d.

Originally posted by Dataisgod

Maths
You throw drop and object, A, of mass m straight down, and fire an identical mass, B, m horizontally at the same instant. Ignoring air resistance and uneven ground, what happens?
a) A hits the ground first
b) B hits the ground first
c) They hit the ground at the same time
And why?

Being pedantic, I would imagine it would depend on the ballisttics of B. Even firing it horizontally could cause it to climb initially, which would give an answer of A. If, on the other hand, it doesnt climb from ballistics, then the answer is C, as gravity is going to effect each body equally, regardless of horiyontal velocity.

jc

The Science Trivia Quiz

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