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1) Toss Up - Chemistry - Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not a colligative property of solutions?
W) Vapor pressure elevation
X) Freezing point depression
Y) Boiling point elevation
Z) Osmotic pressure

ANSWER: W) VAPOR PRESSURE ELEVATION
1) Bonus - Chemistry - Short Answer

By name or number, which of the following four types of mixtures are generally considered homogeneous? 1) alloy, 2) suspension, 3) emulsion, 4) colloid

ANSWER: 1) ALLOY
2) Toss Up - Astronomy - Multiple Choice

Ishtar Terra and Aphrodite Terra are the two "continents" of
W) Venus
X) Mars
Y) Saturn
Z) Mercury

ANSWER: W) Venus
2) Bonus - Astronomy - Multiple Choice

Who last set foot on the moon, and when did this occur?
W) Harrison Schmitt, December 14th, 1972
X) Edgar Mitchell, February 5th, 1971
Y) John Young, April 21st, 1972
Z) David Scott, July 30th, 1971

ANSWER: W) Harrison Schmitt, December 14th, 1972
3) Toss Up - Chemistry - Multiple Choice

Which of the following acid-base indicators is colorless in an acidic solution and pink in a basic solution?
W) 2,4-Dinitrophenol
X) Erythrosin B
Y) Alizarin
Z) Phenolphthalein

ANSWER: Z)
3) Bonus - Chemistry - Multiple Choice

The acid-base indicator Bromthymol Blue is blue in a basic solution. Which of the following would be its color in an acidic solution?
W) Yellow
X) Green
Y) Violet
Z) Orange

ANSWER: W)
4) Toss Up - Math - Multiple Choice

A polynomial of odd degree with real coefficients always has
W) at least one imaginary zero
X) at least one real zero
Y) at least two real zeros
Z) none of the above

ANSWER: X) AT LEAST ONE REAL ZERO
4) Bonus - Math - Multiple Choice

Evaluate `sum_(k=1)^6 k^2 = ?` (read as: summation from k equals 1 to 6 of k squared equals)
W) `21`
X) `6 k^2`
Y) `6`
Z) `91`

ANSWER: Z) `91`
5) Toss Up - Physics - Short Answer

Which fundamental force is not explained by the Standard Model?

ANSWER: GRAVITY
5) Bonus - Physics - Short Answer

This device is used to detect charged particles, which create a visible track as they move through it. A magnetic field is aligned perpendicular to the plane of the device so that positively charged particles curve one way and negatively charged particles curve in the opposite direction.

ANSWER: CLOUD CHAMBER OR BUBBLE CHAMBER
6) Toss Up - Biology - Multiple Choice

Malaria is caused by a
W) mosquito
X) virus
Y) flea
Z) protozoan

ANSWER: Z) protozoan
6) Bonus - Biology - Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a component of the human axial skeleton?
W) sternum
X) vertebral column
Y) tarsals
Z) skull

ANSWER: Y) tarsals
7) Toss Up - Chemistry - Multiple Choice

Which of the following is characteristic of a compound?
W) Elements must be combined in a very specific ratio
X) Properties can vary throughout the sample
Y) It can be classified as a colloid
Z) It can be classified as heterogeneous

ANSWER: W) ELEMENTS MUST BE COMBINED IN A VERY SPECIFIC RATIO
7) Bonus - Chemistry - Multiple Choice

Which of the following results will identify an unknown substance as a mixture instead of a compound?
W) It cannot be separated by distillation
X) It is homogeneous
Y) It has a constant melting point
Z) Centrifuging can separate the components

ANSWER: Z) CENTRIFUGING CAN SEPARATE THE COMPONENTS
8) Toss Up - Physics - Multiple Choice

A gyroscope at rest is accelerated in a clockwise direction around its central vertical axis. In what direction does the torque vector point?
W) radially inward
X) radially outward
Y) up along the axis of the gyroscope
Z) down along the axis of the gyroscope

ANSWER: Z) DOWN ALONG THE AXIS OF THE GYROSCOPE
8) Bonus - Physics - Short Answer

A figure skater rotates counterclockwise. Her angular momentum vector points W) tangentially to the velocity of each point X) radially inward from each rotating point Y) up along her central axis Z) down along her central axis

ANSWER: Y) UP ALONG HER CENTRAL AXI
9) Toss Up - Astronomy - Short Answer

What gas makes up most of the atmosphere of Mars?

ANSWER: CARBON DIOXIDE (ACCEPT: CO2)
9) Bonus - Astronomy - Short Answer

Longitude is to right ascension as latitude is to:

ANSWER: DECLINATION
10) Toss Up - Chemistry - Short Answer

What type of magnetism exists in substances in which electrons are unpaired and are very weakly attracted by magnetic fields?

ANSWER: Paramagnetism (accept: paramagnetic)
10) Bonus - Chemistry - Multiple Choice

About how many calories per gram will it take to sublimate water at standard pressure:
W) 180
X) 360
Y) 540
Z) 720

ANSWER: Z) 720
11) Toss Up - Math - Short Answer

A circle has a radius of 8 centimeters. Find the central angle, in degrees, of a sector of a circle if its arc length is 2pi centimeters:

ANSWER: 45
11) Bonus - Math - Short Answer

Find the following indefinite integral: `int xe^xdx` (read as: the integral of x times e to the x power, dx)

ANSWER: `xe^x - e^x + c`
12) Toss Up - General Science - Multiple Choice

In 1905, on the basis of apparent irregularities in the orbital motion of Neptune that later proved to be incorrect, who predicted the existence of a ninth planet with an orbit beyond Neptune:
W) Percival Lowell
X) Charles Dillon Perrine
Y) George Ellery Hale
Z) Johannes Franz Hartman

ANSWER: W) PERCIVAL LOWELL
12) Bonus - General Science - Short Answer

What native tree, prized for its wood, which looked like oak, and valued also for its fruit, is now almost extinct in the wild in the US?

ANSWER: AMERICAN CHESTNUT (DO NOT ACCEPT CHESTNUT)
13) Toss Up - Chemistry - Multiple Choice

The ability of geckos to climb smooth surfaces is due to which of the following?
W) Hydrogen bonding
X) Van der Waals forces
Y) Ion-dipole forces
Z) Intramolecular forces

ANSWER: X) VAN DER WAALS FORCES
13) Bonus - Chemistry - Multiple Choice

Nanotechnologists are creating butterfly scale patterns on paper money to foil counterfeiters using which of the following substances?
W) Calcium oxide
X) Zinc oxide
Y) Magnesium oxide
Z) Aluminum oxide

ANSWER: Z) ALUMINUM OXIDE
14) Toss Up - Earth And Space - Multiple Choice

What will likely happen to the amount of dissolved oxygen in a river downstream of a tributary that brings sewage effluent?
W) The amount of oxygen will be depleted
X) The amount of oxygen will stay the same
Y) Oxygen will be generated
Z) More oxygen will diffuse into the water

ANSWER: W) THE AMOUNT OF OXYGEN WILL BE DEPLETED
14) Bonus - Earth And Space - Multiple Choice

Does a heavy wet snowfall in Buffalo, New York necessarily mean that Boston, Massachusetts will experience the same weather?
W) Yes, because they are geographically close and the Westerlies drive storm systems across the U.S. towards the East
X) Yes, because airmasses hitting New England are always impacted by their proximity to the ocean and, therefore, pick up moisture that will be dumped as snow
Y) No, because Buffalo, New York, is subject to lake-effect snows; the airmass may be "dried out” by the time it gets to Boston
Z) No, because weather in the U.S. is driven by the Westerlies which push storm systems from east to west across the continent

ANSWER: Y) NO, BECAUSE BUFFALO, NEW YORK, IS SUBJECT TO LAKE-EFFECT SNOWS; THE AIRMASS MAY BE "DRIED OUT” BY THE TIME IT GETS TO BOSTON
15) Toss Up - Chemistry - Multiple Choice

Which of the following galvanic cells does not contain zinc?
W) Weston cell
X) Leclanché cell
Y) Grove cell
Z) Daniell cell

ANSWER: W) Weston cell
15) Bonus - Chemistry - Short Answer

Name all of the following which are advantages that the Daniell cell has over the voltaic pile. I) It was much cheaper. II) It was not as corrosive. III) It had better life. IV) It could be used in mobile applications.

ANSWER: II and III
16) Toss Up - Astronomy - Short Answer

What atomic particle was named by Enrico Fermi meaning “little neutral one”?

ANSWER: NEUTRINO
16) Bonus - Astronomy - Multiple Choice

What color would a star appear with a surface temperature of about 30,000 Kelvin?
W) blue
X) green
Y) orange
Z) red

ANSWER: W) BLUE
17) Toss Up - Energy - Multiple Choice

What is the process by which lithium enters electrodes in a lithium-ion battery?
W) Intercalation
X) Precipitation
Y) Hydration
Z) Bombardment

ANSWER: W) INTERCALATION
17) Bonus - Energy - Multiple Choice

While walking down the street, an open wire falls on you and you receive an instantaneous alternating current electric shock. Where did most of the electrons come from that "shocked” you?
W) The ground
X) The wire
Y) The air
Z) Your body

ANSWER: Z) YOUR BODY
18) Toss Up - Physics - Short Answer

This is the name of the closest object location at which a lens will form a sharp image:

ANSWER: NEAR POINT
18) Bonus - Physics - Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT true?
W) a human's near point moves further from the lens with age
X) a human's near point usually becomes 500 cm or greater around age 60
Y) a human's near point averages around 25 cm
Z) a human's near point around the age of 10 is typically 30 cm

ANSWER: Z) A HUMAN'S NEAR POINT AROUND THE AGE OF 10 IS TYPICALLY 30 CM
19) Toss Up - Chemistry - Multiple Choice

A solution of 100 ml dimethyl ketone, 45ml amyl acetate, 15 ml butyl acetate,15 ml ethyl acetate, and 1 ml of castor oil, can be mixed to make:
W) enamel
X) glue
Y) fingernail polish
Z) hand cleaner

ANSWER: X) GLUE
19) Bonus - Chemistry - Short Answer

If a hydrogen atom is removed from an alkane, the carbon and hydrogen portion that remains is called what:

ANSWER: ALKYL GROUP
20) Toss Up - Energy - Short Answer

What is the term for a kind of landfill technology, currently in research and development, that accelerates the biological decomposition of organic wastes in a landfill by promoting the conditions necessary for the microorganisms that degrade the waste?

ANSWER: BIOREACTOR
20) Bonus - Energy - Short Answer

When water levels drop in a spent nuclear fuel pool, temperatures in the fuel assembly rise, accelerating the oxidation of the material that encases uranium oxide pellets. If the oxidation reactions become self-sustaining, a fire can form that proceeds as a burn front along the axis of the fuel rod toward the source of the oxidant. What is the name of the encasing material that is burning?

ANSWER: ZIRCONIUM CLADDING (ACCEPT: ZIRCONIUM)
21) Toss Up - Earth Science - Multiple Choice

The principal mineral in most sand beaches is
W) quartz
X) orthoclase
Y) magnetite
Z) muscovite

ANSWER: W) quartz
21) Bonus - Earth Science - Multiple Choice

Which one of the following seas has the lowest salinity?
W) Baltic
X) Dead
Y) Mediterranean
Z) Red

ANSWER: W) Baltic
22) Toss Up - Astronomy - Multiple Choice

Neptune was the last planet to be visited by which space probe?
W) Voyager I
X) Galileo
Y) Voyager II
Z) Titan

ANSWER: Y-- VOYAGER II
22) Bonus - Astronomy - Multiple Choice

Pluto is different from the other outer planets because
W) it may have been a moon of Neptune that escaped.
X) it formed near Earth and moved outward.
Y) it is too close to the inner planets.
Z) none of the above

ANSWER: W-- IT MAY HAVE BEEN A MOON OF NEPTUNE THAT ESCAPED
23) Toss Up - General Science - Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a standard datatype for Java, but not for standard C:
W) float
X) char
Y) byte
Z) integer

ANSWER: Y) BYTE
23) Bonus - General Science - Multiple Choice

Which of the following is true about Java versus C language:
W) C allows forward references
X) Java allows forward references
Y) neither Java nor C allow forward references
Z) Java and C both allow forward references

ANSWER: Z) JAVA AND C BOTH ALLOW FORWARD REFERENCES (Solution: C struct, Java class)
24) Toss Up - Physics - Short Answer

In a circuit diagram, a particular capacitor is represented by two lines separated by a small gap. One of the lines is straight and perpendicular to the wire leading up to it, and the other is curved away from the gap. What is this type of capacitor known as?

ANSWER: ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITOR (ACCEPT POLARIZED CAPACITOR)
24) Bonus - Physics - Multiple Choice

In an aluminum electrolytic capacitor, the dielectric material is a thin film of
W) aluminum oxide
X) sodium perborate
Y) phlogopite mica
Z) sulfur hexafluoride

ANSWER: W) ALUMINUM OXIDE
25) Toss Up - Energy - Multiple Choice

The human brain contains as many as 100 billion neurons. The neurons communicate with each other through electrochemical signals. Which of the following is NOT true?
W) Each neuron can connect to at least 1,000 other neurons
X) Neurons have a short life span
Y) Brain signals involve less than one-tenth the voltage of an ordinary flashlight battery
Z) Some messages pass through the nervous system more quickly than others

ANSWER: X) NEURONS HAVE A SHORT LIFE SPAN
25) Bonus - Energy - Multiple Choice

Brain computer interfaces can measure minute differences in the voltage between neurons, amplify and filter the signal, and then a computer interprets it. All of the following are current applications of brain computer interfaces, except:
W) Controlling a computer cursor via mental commands
X) Interpreting brain signals for movement for someone who can’t physically move
Y) Providing a communication link for people who suffer from "locked in” syndrome
Z) Repairing damaged neurons

ANSWER: Z) REPAIRING DAMAGED NEURONS