| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| A cycle named after this group of elements involve its gases reacting with evaporating tungsten, as seen in lamps. One element from this group is derived from the Greek name for "stench" and is used in flame retardants, while the most reactive element from this group is bonded with carbon to create PTFE, which is used in the creation of Teflon. Bromine and fluorine are a part of, for the point, what elements that constitute group 17 of the periodic table? | Halogens (accept Halogen Cycle; accept Halogen Lamp; prompt on "Group 17" before mentioned) |
| CNE theory proposes that this phenomenon was responsible for the development of the RNA editing machinery, and most molecular evolution occurs due to this phenomenon, according to Motoo Kimura's neutral theory. This phenomenon has a larger effect on smaller populations after a bottleneck, which is why Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium assumes an infinite population size. For the point, name this change in allele frequencies due to random chance. | Genetic Drift (or Allelic Drift; accept Neutral Evolution before mentioned) |
| This scientist names a paradox which refers to the contradiction that despite there being a high chance of the existence of aliens, there is no undeniable evidence. This physicist, who led a team of scientists called the "Via Panisperna boys," names a subatomic particle that has a one-half integer spin and obeys the Pauli's exclusion principle. For the point, name this Italian physicist who created Chicago Pile-1, the world's first nuclear reactor. | Enrico Fermi (accept Fermi Paradox; accept Fermion) |
| Movement at these locations causes symmetric magnetic anomalies to occur in the surrounding areas. The Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis predicted the plate motion that occurs at these locations. These locations are formed by rising magma chambers, which also causes sea-floor spreading to occur here, creating new oceanic crust. For the point, name these underwater mountain ranges that are located where continental plates diverge. | Mid-Ocean Ridges (or MORs; prompt on “Divergent Plate Boundaries” or “Plate Boundaries”) |
| In 2008, a nine-year-old Matthew Berger discovered the first fossil of the species sediba belonging to this genus, which was once synonymous to the genus Paranthropus. In 1924, Raymond Dart discovered a fossil of this genus which included the skull of an estimated 13-year-old child. The first evidence of bipedalism in early humans, the Taung Child, belonged to, for the point, what genus of early hominids that also defines the early hominid, "Lucy"? | Australopithecus (accept Australopithecus sediba; Australopithecus afarensis) |
| A necessary first step for verifying this theorem was Ken Ribet's proof of the epsilon conjecture. A proof of this theorem showed that every elliptic curve has a modular form in a special case of the Taniyama– Shimura conjecture. This theorem states that there is no solution to the equation “a to the n plus b to the n equals c to the n” for n greater than two. For the point, name this theorem named for a French mathematician. | Fermat's Last Theorem (prompt on partial answers; do not accept or prompt on "Fermat's Little Theorem") |
| Seven features of this compound that are peri-fused form coronene, which is its "super" variety. Originally, this compound was known as "bicarburet of hydrogen." A ring of this compound lacking a hydrogen can be called a Phenyl group. A dream of a snake chasing its own tail inspired Friedrich August Kekulé's [[keh-KOO-lehs]] discovery of the shape of, for the point, what organic compound with the chemical formula C6H6? | Benzene (accept Benzol; accept Super Benzene; accept Bicarburet of hydrogen before mentioned; accept C6H6 before mentioned) |
| This company manufactures a reusable vehicle called the New Shepard, in which its third capsule, the RSS First Step, carried passengers Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk. Glen de Vries and Audrey Powers were among the passengers to fly in a suborbital flight operated by this company, whose NS-18 mission also flew the oldest person to space, the then 90-year-old actor, William Shatner. For the point, name this space exploration company founded by Jeff Bezos. | Blue Origin, LLC |
| Among the inventions attributed to this thinker was a weapon capable of capsizing enemy vessels called the "iron hand." According to Plutarch, this thinker died because he was too engrossed in a mathematical problem to obey a Roman soldier’s orders. To remove bilge water from a vessel commissioned by Hiero II [[the Second]], this thinker developed his eponymous screw. For the point, name this thinker who, upon discovering the principle of buoyancy, apocryphally shouted “Eureka!” | Archimedes of Syracuse (accept Claw of Archimedes; accept Archimedes' Screw) |
| The majority of the research of Anton Zeilinger concerns applications and aspects of this phenomenon, which was experienced by particles that the 2022 Nobel laureates studied. Erwin Schrödinger referred to this phenomenon, which was once referred to as "spooky action at a distance, as "the characteristic trait of" one branch of mechanics. For the point, name this phenomenon in which two particles depend on each others' quantum states. | Quantum Entanglement |
| A subclass of these vessels is only opened by a Teflon plug valve and is called a "Schlenk bomb." The vacuum variety of these vessels is named after its inventor, Sir James Dewar, and a round-bottomed retort variety of this equipment is used in distillation process. When demonstrating spontaneous generation, Louis Pasteur used the swan neck variety of, for the point, what type of laboratory equipment whose Erlenmeyer variety is used to mix liquids? | Flasks (accept Schlenk Flasks; accept Schlenk Bomb Flasks; accept Vacuum Flasks; accept Dewar Flasks; accept Retort Flasks; accept Swan Neck Flasks; accept Erlenmeyer Flasks) |
| For a compound pendulum, the the square root of mgr over this quantity gives natural frequency. This quantity about any axis, which can be found by knowing it about a parallel axis, remains constant during the titular change by the terms of the stretch rule. In terms of a point mass, this quantity is the perpendicular distance to the axis of rotation squared times the mass. For the point, name this rotational analog of mass symbolized "I." | Mass Moment of Inertia (accept Angular Mass; accept Second Moment of Mass; accept Rotational Inertia; prompt on "I") |
| The point which minimizes the sum of distances toward sample points is known as the geometric variety of this quantity. This quantity is used to find location when decreased importance is given to extreme points, and this quantity can separate the halves of a probability distribution. 50% of a data set has a value that is equal to or less than this quantity and vice versa. For the point, name this quantity that measures the value in the middle of a set. | Median (accept Geometric Median) |
| One entity with this name, nicknamed "object D," was the counterpart to Vanguard 1, and the only passenger onboard another entity with this name died from overheating resulting from an air conditioning malfunction. The second entity with this name sent the first animal into space, a dog named Laika [[LIE-kah]]. For the point, identify this designation which is also the name of the first artificial satellite launched in 1957 by the Soviet Union. | Sputnik (accept Sputnik 2; accept Sputnik 3) |
| The "base 10 log of half-life" appears on one side of a law of nuclear physics named for this man and John Mitchell Nuttall. This man and Ernest Marsden conducted the gold foil experiment, which were overseen by Ernest Rutherford. Ionizing radiation can be tracked by a device named for this scientist that can use "per minute" or "per second" measurements. For the point, name this German physicist who developed a namesake counter. | Hans Geiger (or Johannes Wilhelm "Hans" Geiger; accept Geiger-Nuttall Law; accept Geiger- Marsden Experiments; accept Geiger Counter) |
| A corkscrew or rosary bead variety of this organ can form in its namesake diffuse spasm condition. An EMS can be done to examine the motility of this organ, which is traveled by the bolus with the help of peristaltic waves. The abdominal muscle's contraction causes the ejection of matter through this organ in vomiting. For the point, name this organ through which food passes from the throat to the stomach. | Esophagus (accept Gullet; prompt on "Food Pipe") |
| This person developed a base-10 logarithmic unit of information called a ban. This person, who proved the halting problem to be unsolvable, names a device that can encode any possible algorithm. This man created a test to distinguish between humans and artificial intelligence, which he referred to as “the imitation game.” For the point, name this British mathematician who cracked the enigma code. | Alan Turing (or Alan Mathison Turing; accept Turing Machine) |
| William Randolph Hearst allegedly transferred iguanas from this area's region of Baltra to North Seymour Island, until they were eventually reintroduced to Baltras in the 1980s. In 2012, an animal named "Lonesome George" died in this archipelago, which was also where a group of 18 species of passerine birds were studied by a British naturalist. For the point, name these islands whose diverse species were notably studied by Charles Darwin. | Galápagos Islands (prompt on "Ecuador"; prompt on "South America") |
| A version of these devices on the Gerald R. Ford class of ships will use linear induction motor instead of steam-pistons to ensure smoother takeoffs of fighter jets. Leonardo da Vinci invented a version of this device, which used energy stored in bent wood, and another of these devices, called the onager, suffered from immense recoil. Counterweighted trebuchets were an example of, for the point, what devices often used in sieges to hurl heavy objects? | Catapults (accept Steam Catapults; accept Da Vinci Catapults; accept clear-knowledge equivalents) |
| Penicilliary radicles can be found in this organ, where they are formed from arterioles. Though not the liver, this organ can be enlarged in Gaucher's disease. Through the lienal artery, oxygenated blood is sent to this organ, which is found below the left portion of the diaphragm and is similar in appearance to a sizable lymph node. Able to clear platelets from circulation, this is, for the point, what organ that filters defective red blood cells? | Spleen |
| The taxonomic family Ziphiidae includes the "beaked" type of these animals. Some species of this type of animal have fatty tissue in their foreheads that is known as a melon. On average, these are the largest types of animals that sleep with only one half of their brain at a time. The order Mysticeti contains these largest cetaceans that may feed using baleen. For the point, name these types of aquatic animals that include the humpback and orca. | Whales (accept Cetaceans before mentioned; accept specific whale species; accept Beaked Whales; accept Baleen Whales; accept Humpback Whales; accept Killer Whales) |
| This star can be located using the pointer stars Dubhe [[DOO-bee]] and Merak [[MAIR-ak]]. A distinction held by this star was formerly held by Thuban [[THOO-ban]] and will be held by Vega in around twelve thousand years. This brightest star in Ursa Minor marks the end of the Little Dipper's handle. Appearing nearly motionless, this is, for the point, what current northern pole star often used in navigation? | Polaris (accept Polaris A, Polaris Aa or Polaris AB; accept North Star before “Northern”; accept Alpha Ursae Minoris before “Ursa”; prompt on “Pole Star”) |
| The lesser trochanter is a projection of the namesake shaft of this bone, and an extension of the external iliac artery is named for this bone. The excessive divergence of these bones can lead to genu varum, characterized by a bow-like appearance. The tibia and patella both connect to the bottom of this bone, whose top is connected to the hip joint. For the point, name this longest bone in the human body, also known the thigh bone. | Femur (accept Femora; accept Thigh Bone before mentioned) |
| Thomas Leech conducted a set of tests in the 1940 that attempted to create these events via their namesake bombs. 500 mile per hour speeds can be achieved by the central feature in these events characterized by low amplitude. The province of Krabi in Thailand was affected in a December 2004 event of this type. With a name derived from a Japanese term for "harbour wave," these are, for the point, what displacements of water often caused by earthquakes? | Tsunamis (accept Tsunami Bomb; prompt on "Earthquakes") |
| Among mammals, this action is most proficiently performed by members of the order Dermoptera. The common name of Petaurus breviceps, a marsupial popularly kept as an exotic pet, refers to its ability to do this action. Colugos and scaly-tailed squirrels are able to do this action through the use of a flap of skin called the patagium, which connects the wrists and ankles. For the point, name this form of aerial locomotion used by flying squirrels. | Gliding (or Volplaning; prompt on “Flight”; do not accept “Powered Flight” or any answers indicating "Flapping" or "Active Propulsion") |
| The Guajira location of this type is in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta's rain shadow. A salient, said salients is distinct from these similarly-shaped regions. Under certain conditions, promontories can meet the definition of these locations. With a name meaning "almost island," these are, for the point, what landmasses, which include the Yucatán, which are surrounded on multiple but not all borders with water? | Peninsulas (accept Guajira Peninsula; accept Yucatán Peninsula) |
| Smithsonian head Charles Doolittle Walcott attempted to give credit of this achievement to Samuel Langley. The two men responsible for this achievement shipped the vessel they created to do it back to Dayton in spite of its damaged state. This achievement, which is honored on the state quarters of both North Carolina and Ohio, took place in the town of Kitty Hawk. For the point, name this achievement where the Wright Brothers began the pioneer era of aviation. | First heavier-than-air flight (accept clear-knowledge equivalents) |
| By 2025, the surface of this planet will be expectantly reached by a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency called BepiColombo. The second mission to reach this planet caught an image of the Pantheon Fossae, or "the spider," found on this planet's Caloris basin. The spacecrafts MESSENGER and Mariner 10 both crashed on, for the point, what closest planet to the Sun? | Mercury |
| One form of this task using potassium and argon can be applied to lavas to analyze previous cooling events. The composition of zircon crystals can be used in the uranium-lead type of this task, which is carried out using different rates of decay to infer an object’s previous elemental composition. For the point, name this method of determining an object's age, such as with carbon-14. | Radiometric Dating (or Radiocarbon Dating; or Carbon Dating) |
| This is the only family of mammals to produce antibodies that completely lack light chains and are thus called heavy chains. Unlike other mammals, this family has elliptical red blood cells. The individual halves of this family’s a split upper lip are prehensile, this family has uniquely three chambered stomachs. Vicuñas, alpacas, and llamas are smaller members of, for the point, what animal family that includes a namesake desert mammal with a hump? | Camelidae (or Camelids; or Camel Family) |
| Most people with the moccasin-type of this medical condition will also get onychomycosis [[on-ih- koh-my-KOH-sis]]. This form of ringworm has the scientific name tinea pedis [[TIN-ee-ah PEE-diss]]. This condition, which is similar to jock itch, can be transmitted in locker rooms and caused by wearing wet socks. For the point, name this fungal infection that can affect the space between the toes and, despite its name, is not limited to people who play sports. | Athlete’s Foot (accept Tinea Pedis before “tinea” is mentioned; prompt on “Ringworm”) |