Science

Question 1

Electromagnetic induction was discovered in 1831 by which British scientist,
whose namesake law is also known as the law of induction?

Answer 1

Michael Faraday

Question 2

In materials science, which process heats a material above its recrystallisation
temperature, holding for a certain time and then cooling to room temperature, to
improve ductility and reduce brittleness and/or internal stress?

Answer 2

Annealing

Question 3

A carbonyl functional group consists of a carbon atom double-bonded to an atom
of which other element?

Answer 3

Oxygen

Question 4

Independently of Michael Faraday, electromagnetic induction was also
discovered in 1832 by which American scientist and namesake of an SI unit?

Answer 4

Joseph Henry

Question 5

A cyanide ion consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to an atom of which other
element?

Answer 5

Nitrogen

Question 6

Sometimes also known as frittage, which process in materials science applies
heat or pressure to small particles of a material, but keeps them below the
melting point, to compact and fuse them together into a solid mass without
liquefying?

Answer 6

Sintering

Question 7

What is the second-outermost layer of the Earth’s atmosphere? Its name comes
from the Greek for ‘heat’?

Answer 7

Thermosphere

Question 8

The equation that relates the reduction potential of an electrochemical reaction to
its reaction quotient is named after which German chemist, who developed it in
1887?

Answer 8

Walther Nernst

Question 9

The term renal refers to things associated with which organs of the body?

Answer 9

Kidneys

Question 10

Acetic acid is the main chemical component (other than water) of which
foodstuff, often paired with salt as a condiment?

Answer 10

Vinegar

Question 11

The rule of maximum multiplicity, which predicts that electrons will enter an empty
orbital before pairing up, is named after which German physicist who formulated
it in 1925?

Answer 11

Friedrich Hund

Question 12

What is the outermost layer of the Earth’s atmosphere? Its name comes from
the Greek for ‘outside’ or ‘beyond’?

Answer 12

Exosphere

Question 13

Ascorbic acid is the chemical name for which vitamin, commonly found in fruit?

Answer 13

Vitamin C

Question 14

The term pulmonary refers to things associated with which organs of the body?

Answer 14

Lungs

Question 15

Often reported as a symptom of COVID-19, anosmia is a loss of which one of the
five senses?

Answer 15

Smell

Question 16

Which organelles in plant cells are the site of photosynthesis within cells and
where sunlight is converted into energy-storing molecules such as ATP?

Answer 16

Chloroplasts

Question 17

Which organelles in animal cells are the site of aerobic respiration within cells,
where ATP is produced to provide energy for the cell?

Answer 17

Mitochondria

Question 18

In 1643, Evangelista Torricelli created the first laboratory vacuum using a tube of
which heavy metal, that is liquid at room temperature and subsequently became
widely used in both thermometers and barometers?

Answer 18

Mercury

Question 19

Taking its name from a Greek Goddess, what name is given to the NASA-led
program of lunar exploration, intended to re-establish a human presence on the
Moon, whose first uncrewed mission went to lunar orbit in 2022?

Answer 19

Artemis

Question 20

Named for a constellation and mythical hunter placed in the sky by Artemis, what
name is given to the spacecraft built to carry people to the lunar surface in the
Artemis program?

Answer 20

Orion

Question 21

Photoreceptor cells in the outer edges of the retina, that are responsible for night vision, are known by what name, that is also an imperial unit of length equal to sixteen and a half feet.

Answer 21

Rods

Question 22

Photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for colour vision are known by what name, that is also a three-dimensional shape with a point and a circular base?

Answer 22

Cones

Question 23

The dioxide of which chemical element is commonly used to remove moisture from the air, and often packaged in gel-form in sachets?

Answer 23

Silicon

Question 24

The American neurologist Stanley Prusiner won the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1997 for his work on which type of misfolded proteins, now known to be the causative agent for several diseases?

Answer 24

Prions

Question 25

The ‘activated’ form of which chemical element is commonly used in filters, air purification and odour control, including in pet litters?

Answer 25

Carbon

Question 26

Prion diseases are collectively known as TSEs. The letter S in that abbreviation stands for which adjective?

Answer 26

Spongiform (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies)

Question 27

The Russian Covid-19 vaccine approved in 2020 shared what name with a series of Soviet spacecraft?

Answer 27

Sputnik

Question 28

The name of which form of isomerism is a reference to functional groups lying on
one or other side of a molecule, rather than anything to do with gender identities?
But-2-ene is the simplest compound that exhibits this type of isomerism.

Answer 28

Cis-trans isomerism

Question 29

A MOSFET is a variety of which type of electronic component with three
terminals - the gate, source, and drain? The T in MOSFET stands for this
component.

Answer 29

Transistor

Question 30

The tibia, fibula and femur are bones in which limb of the body?

Answer 30

Leg

Question 31

The ulna, radius, and humerus are bones in which limb of the body?

Answer 31

Arm

Question 32

Silicon and germanium are examples of which type of materials, used to make
transistors? This word is represented by the letter S in the acronym MOSFET.

Answer 32

Semiconductor

Question 33

What type of light volcanic rock, created when super-heated, highly pressurized
rock is violently ejected from a volcano, is often found in bathrooms and beauty
salons?

Answer 33

Pumice

Question 34

Cells in mammals that produce pigmentation are known by what name, meaning
‘black cell’?

Answer 34

Melanocytes

Question 35

Named after a character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, what is the second
largest moon of Uranus?

Answer 35

Oberon

Question 36

Although it is colloquially a synonym for speed, in physics which quantity differs
from speed because it involves a particular direction?

Answer 36

Velocity

Question 37

The cells that produce colour in cold-blooded animals are known by what name,
meaning ‘colour bearer’?

Answer 37

Chromatophores

Question 38

Which type of hard volcanic glass, formed when lava extruded from a volcano
cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth, naturally fractures with sharp edges,
and so has been used since prehistoric times to make cutting tools?

Answer 38

Obsidian

Question 39

In maths and physics, quantities with no direction, such as speed, are called
scalars. Quantities like velocity, that include a direction are referred to by what
corresponding word, also beginning with V?

Answer 39

Vectors

Question 40

Coincidentally sharing its name with a character in The Two Gentlemen of
Verona, what is the second largest moon of Neptune?

Answer 40

Proteus

Question 41

Which chemical element is a halogen whose name comes from a word meaning
‘green’, and is often used to clean swimming pools?

Answer 41

Chlorine