| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Signs of necrosis on the heads of the humerus and femurs of these animals suggests that they likely suffered from frequent decompression sickness. These animals are believed to have been able to propel themselves with both upstrokes and downstrokes, according to a model that replaced the earlier “rowing” model. Ichthyosaurs are distinguished from these animals by their dolphin-like appearance and lack of distinctive spinal cervix. For the point, name these extinct long necked aquatic reptiles. | Plesiosaurs (or Plesiosauria; do not accept or prompt on “Dinosaurs”) |
| One type of this technique uses sodium dodecyl sulfate as a surfactant. This technique, which commonly uses the buffers Tris and EDTA, is performed right after restriction digestion in a Southern Blot. Molecular weight markers called ladders are used to measure the results of this technique, which typically uses a medium of polyacrylamide or agarose. For the point, name this technique that separates nucleic acids or proteins using a charged field. | Gel Electrophoresis |
| The transition from polaritons to these entities is often referred to as "lasing without inversion." An equation, sometimes called the "nonlinear Schrödinger equation," is used to calculate this entity's ground-state wavefunction. Often considered the fifth state of matter, these entities can be created when bosons are cooled to extremely low temperatures. For the point, identify this state of matter named for an Indian physicist and the scientist who published theories on general and special relativity. | Bose-Einstein Condensate (accept BEC) |
| These substances are modeled by DLVO theory, which is named for the four scientists who independently discovered it. Clarifying agents are widely used in the cheese and brewing industries to destabilize these substances by forming smaller aggregate “flocs.” The scattering of blue light by these substances was first studied by John Tyndall. For the point, name these mixtures which contain small particles of one substance dispersed in another, such as blood and milk. | Colloids (accept Colloidal Suspensions; accept Sols; accept Gels; accept Emulsions; prompt on "Suspensions") |
| LD 350-1 is thought to be a member of either this species, or a similar one named for Lake Rudolf. Observations of gnathic reduction and a precision grip in one member of this species were used to hypothesize that this species marked a transition between Australopithecus africanus and a later species. Along with Oldowan tools, a member of this species named Johnny's Child, or OH 7, was discovered in Olduvai Gorge. For the point, name this extinct human species with a Latin name meaning "handy man." | Homo habilis (prompt on "Homo"; do not accept or prompt on answers like "Homo erectus" or "Homo sapiens") |
| One section on these figures is called the “forbidden zone,” which is located to the right of the Hayashi track. “Oh Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me” is a popular mnemonic used to memorize spectral classes measured on the x-axis of these figures. Most objects in these figures are found in a section that curves downward from the top left to the bottom right in a section called the Main Sequence. For the point, name these doubly eponymous diagrams that classify stars based on absolute magnitude and luminosity. | H-R Diagrams (or Hertzsprung-Russell Diagrams; accept HRDs) |
| A "reflow" process that uses a paste of flux mixed with this material has largely been replaced by a "wave" process in which a PCB is passed over a molten pan of this material. A process using this material is similar to brazing, but is done at much lower temperatures. The most common formulation for this material is a 60/40 eutectic alloy of tin and lead that is sold as a spool of wire. Commonly used in the production of circuit boards, for the point, name this filler metal that is melted to join together metal surfaces by a namesake "iron." | Solder (pronounced [[SOD-der]] but be lenient; accept Soldering; accept Soldering iron; accept Soldering gun; prompt on "Alloy") |
| The time integral of this quantity is demonstrated by a result from Michael Faraday and is known as its linkage. Both motional and induced varieties of EMF in the Lorentz Force can be reduced to the rate of change in this quantity for a wire. One measure of this quantity named for James Clerk Maxwell is defined as one gauss per cubic centimeter. Typically denoted with the greek letter Phi, this is, for the point, what quantity which measures the density of the B field at a certain point? | Magnetic Flux (prompt on “Flux”; prompt on “Phi” before read; do not accept “Magnetic Flux Density” or “Magnetic Field”) |
| Gottlob Frege may have adopted this man's idea that propositions containing limited referents actually refer to the entire set of which the referents are part. The principle of wholistic reference was posited by this author of The Laws of Thought, who names the first problem that was shown to be NP Complete. That satisfiability problem named for this man deals with associated values that can be symbolized by the numbers 1 and 0. For the point, name this English mathematician whose namesake algebra quantifies statements such as "true" and "false." | George Boole (accept Boolean Algebra) |
| The alpha and beta types of this enzyme are used in brewing to digest a polymer found in malted barley into maltose. A high measurement of this enzyme in blood and urine may be a strong indication of viral hepatitis or acute pancreatitis, while low levels of this enzyme may indicate cystic fibrosis. As it hydrolyzes alpha-1,4-glycosidic bonds, this enzyme initiates the process of digestion by breaking down starch into simple sugars. For the point, name this enzyme present in saliva. | Amylase (accept Alpha Amylase; accept Beta Amylase; accept Serum Amylase) |
| Animals are classified as physoclisti if these organs are completely separated from the digestive tract. In some animals, the Weberian apparatus connects these organs to the auditory system. These organs, which likely originally functioned to allow their users to “gulp” air in anoxic environments, may have evolved from a common structure in early bony fish. Homologous to lungs, these are, for the point, what organ used by some fish to regulate buoyancy? | Swim Bladder (or Gas Bladder; or Air Bladder; do not prompt on or accept “Bladder”) |
| An experiment that measured this quantity used Stokes's law to calculate the drag between two parallel plates but failed to account for the viscosity of air. This quantity equals Faraday's constant divided by Avogadro's constant. Millikan's oil drop experiment measured this quantity, which equals 1.602 times 10-to-the-negative-19 coulombs. Symbolized lowercase "e," this is, for the point, what quantity, which is the charge of a subatomic particle that orbits the nucleus? | Elementary Charge (accept Charge of an Electron; accept Charge of a Proton; accept Fundamental Charge; accept e before mentioned; prompt on "Charge") |
| Samples in this technique are mounted and rotated using a goniometer, and molecular replacement methods can be used to solve the phase problem in this technique. Bragg's law is applied to interference fringes produced by this technique, which relies on the fact that incident wavelengths and atomic spacings are similar in size. This technique was used by Rosalind Franklin to provide early evidence for the structure of DNA. For the point, name this technique, which uses high-energy electromagnetic radiation to determine the structure of a crystal. | X-ray Crystallography (accept X-ray Diffraction; accept XRD; accept X-ray Scattering; prompt on partial answers) |
| An area of this region that is characterized by resistance to vertical motion is referred to as the free convective layer. A quantity predominantly associated with this region that measures a form of temperature decline is the lapse rate. Polar cells circulate through this region, whose upper boundary contains the most frequent occurrence of jet streams. Divided by a similarly named "pause," which divides it from the stratosphere above it, this is, for the point, what lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere? | Troposphere (prompt on " (Earth's) Atmosphere") |
| Along with mass, observable varieties of this quantity are sufficient to explain the shape and form of an elliptical galaxy formed by spiral galaxy mergers. Outward transfer of this quantity between concentrically moving masses causes magnetorotational instability, and in torque free precession, this quantity remains constant despite the motion of the axis. For most objects, this quantity prevents gravitational collapse perpendicular to the axis of rotation. For the point, name this quantity whose conservation causes neutron stars to spin extremely fast. | Angular Momentum (do not accept or prompt on “Momentum” or “Linear Momentum”) |
| "Toe prep" occurs during this process, which often makes use of a technique known as plug-and-perf. Napalm was originally employed in this process, which more commonly makes use of compounds like ethylene glycol. LPG can be used in a waterless form of this well stimulation technique that targets formations of bedrock to improve a quantity associated with shale. For the point, name this process of injecting high-pressure fluid into the ground to improve the flow rate of petroleum. | Fracking (or Hydraulic Fracturing; or Hydrofracking; or Hydrofracturing) |
| In processes described by the Joule-Thompson effect, this quantity is constant during expansion. The change in this quantity is independent of the number of steps in a chemical reaction in Hess's law. Subtracting the product of temperature and change in entropy from the change in this quantity yields the change in Gibbs free energy. Equal to pressure times volume plus internal energy, this is, for the point, what quantity symbolized as "H"? | Enthalpy (prompt on "H") |
| This molecule is synthesized by adding a UDP-bound substrate approximately seven units at a time, and this molecule's namesake branching enzyme creates terminal residues by forming alpha-1,6-glycosidic linkages. The plant counterpart of this molecule is amylopectin. Humans maintain blood sugar levels through either gluconeogenesis, or the breakdown of this polymer in liver and muscle cells. For the point, name this branched polysaccharide that is the main storage form of glucose in the body. | Glycogen (do not accept or prompt on "Glucagon") |
| In C4 organisms, the dimorphic type of this organelle is concentrated in bundle sheath cells, and proteins are shuttled in and out of this organelle by the TIC and TOC complexes. Lynn Margulis hypothesized that these organelles and mitochondria developed from endosymbiosis of early prokaryotes. In this organelle, a fluid called stroma surrounds the grana, which are stacks of thylakoids that carry out the light-dependent reactions. Chlorophyll is found in, for the point, what plant organelles that are the sites of photosynthesis? | Chloroplasts |
| The third distinct phase of this larger period of time began with the Gauss– Matuyama Reversal of Earth's magnetic field, during which the Sahara Desert was created. Among the three divisions of this length of time are the Paleogene and the Neogene, the former of which is known as the Lower Tertiary. This era began following the KT extinction event that marked the end of the Cretaceous period. Referred to as the "Age of Mammals," this is, for the point, name what current era of geological history that succeeded the Mesozoic and Paleozoic? | Cenozoic Era (accept Cænozoic; accept Caenozoic Era; accept Cainozoic Era) |
| Patterns of movement caused by this phenomenon are described by the Buys- Ballot's law, and the ratio of the inertial forces to this phenomenon gives the Rossby number. If this phenomenon was perfectly balanced by the pressure gradient, geostrophic flow would theoretically occur. The f parameter of this phenomenon is calculated as "2 times the rotation rate of the Earth multiplied by the sign of the latitude." For the point, name this fictitious force that causes hurricanes to rotate counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere. | Coriolis Force (accept Coriolis Effect) |
| Dragonfly is a planned NASA mission to this body, whose Angmar Mons is among its mountains that are named for features from the works of J.R.R Tolkien. Nearly 300 foot tall sand dunes can be found on this moon, whose hazy atmosphere is caused by a 98.4% nitrogen content. Christiaan Huygens discovered this moon that was visited by a module launched from the Cassini spacecraft. Only surpassed by Ganymede in terms of size among natural satellites, this is, for the point, what largest moon of Saturn? | Titan |
| In a 2023 study, scientists found the first evidence that this phenomenon may be caused by black holes gaining mass beyond what they accrete. The scalar field of the quintessence force is one proposed mechanism of this phenomenon. In the lambda-CDM model of the universe, the cosmological constant accounts for this phenomenon. The majority of the mass-energy in the universe is in the form of, for the point, what hypothetical phenomenon believed to be responsible for the expansion of the universe? | Dark Energy |
| A rhombohedral form of this compound is thought to be less stable than the Bernal- stacked variety that takes on an AB configuration. The process of micromechanical cleavage that was used to isolate this compound involved pulling it with tape. Like topological isolators, Dirac cones can form in this compound that contains honeycomb lattices, unlike the cubic formation of diamond. For the point, name this allotrope of carbon with a name inspired by the form of the element often used in pencils. | Graphene (do not accept or prompt on "Graphite") |
| Mainak Mookherjee used supercomputing simulations to estimate the nitrogen potential of this region's boundaries at roughly 2 and 2.6% composition, respectively. Elsasser's model describes matter that migrated downward into this region during a period of silicate cooling. That model explained the differentiation between this layer and the Gutenberg discontinuity above it that marks the point where P waves change in velocity. Iron and nickel primarily compose, for the point, what liquid region and layer of Earth found just below the mantle? | Earth's Outer Core (prompt on Earth's "Core") |
| This practice is forbidden by a 1972 treaty signed in Moscow, London, and Washington. A leak from a Sverdlovsk lab working on materials used in this practice caused 66 deaths in 1979, and a 1984 terrorist attack carried out by the Rajneeshi cult was the worst example of this practice in the U.S. Leonardo da Vinci pioneered this practice with proposed bombs holding the saliva of rabid pigs and dogs. For the point, name this kind of warfare which utilizes pathogens to infect people. | Biological Warfare (or Germ Warfare; accept Bioterrorism; do not accept or prompt on "Chemical") |
| So-called "cakes" used in this technique are frequently made from inert materials like diatomaceous earth and cellulose and are used to reduce resistance later in the process. Some classes of aids for this technique precoat a slurry mix to prevent coagulation and clogging. Ion exchange resin is frequently mixed with activated charcoal to perform this technique on water. For the point, name this technique of separating liquids and solids based on particle size. | Filtration (accept Filtering) |
| Henry Barton linked together ten of these devices to demonstrate how vibration physically affects resonance. The torsion balance used by Henry Cavendish to measure the density of the Earth is alternatively named for one of these devices. Hugh Blackburn invented the harmonograph, which uses two or more of these devices to trace out a curve. To demonstrate the rotation of the Earth, Leon Foucault hung one of these devices from the dome of the Pantheon. For the point, name these harmonic oscillators often found in grandfather clocks. | Pendulums (accept Foucault's Pendulum; accept Torsion Pendulum; accept Barton's Pendulums; prompt on "Oscillator" or "Simple Harmonic Oscillator") |
| One of these molecules is released in each step of the Edman degradation. Chymotrypsin cleaves amide bonds between two of these molecules, and the phi and psi dihedral angles found between these molecules are visualized on a Ramachandran plot. Every turn of an alpha-helix contains four of these molecules, which each contain an amine, a carboxylic acid, and a variable R group side chain. Glycine and tryptophan are examples of, for the point, what molecules that make up proteins? | Amino Acids |
| An antagonist of these substances known as Brodifacoum is often used to control populations of possums and other large rodents. Carboxylation dependent on these substances can form GLA domains. The namesake epoxide reductase of this vitamin is blocked by a medication sold under the name Coumadin that aims at preventing conditions like deep vein thrombosis. That medication, warfarin, acts by blocking this vitamin that is often found in leafy greens. For the point, identify this vitamin that plays a central role in blood clotting. | Vitamin K (accept Vitamin K1; accept Vitamin K2; accept K or K1 or K2 after "Vitamin" is read) |
| Within this field of mathematics, the folk theorem describes how the grim trigger might be employed over an infinite time scale. The founder of this field is John von Neumann, who first applied its minimax theorem to situations with perfect information. The "stag hunt" problem in this field can be diagrammed using a payoff matrix, which shows two pure-strategy Nash equilibria. A non-zero-sum situation in this field involves two players who choose to either cooperate or defect. For the point, name this field of mathematics that studies the Prisoner's Dilemma. | Game Theory (prompt on "Economics") |
| The LZW algorithm for this task is executed faster than another method which creates a prefix-free code by ordering symbols in a binary tree. That method for this task is called Huffman coding. Converting a picture into the JPEG [[JAY-peg]] file format using the "lossy" form of this process will lower its image quality. ZIP files are created using the "lossless" type of, for the point, what process which decreases the amount of data needed to store information? | Data Compression (or Information Compression; accept Image Compression; accept Lossy Compression; accept Lossless Compression; prompt on "coding") |
| Evolutionary change driven by this phenomenon can cause character displacement among species in the same area. Gregory Gause proposed that two organisms occupying the same ecological niche could not engage in this phenomenon, which is known as this phenomenon's namesake exclusion principle. Both the interspecific and intraspecific forms of this phenomenon lower the fitness of all individuals involved. For the point, name this conflict between organisms that vie for the same limited resources, such as food or water. | Competition (accept Competitive Exclusion Principle; accept Resource Competition) |
| Positive examples of this class of numbers definitionally correspond with the vertices on the Stern–Brocot tree. Niven's theorem focuses on angles whose sine values are these numbers, whose arithmetic can be extended through the p-adic number system. The Dirichlet function returns a value of 1 when the input is one of these numbers that can be represented by a capital Q. These numbers are contrasted with a class of numbers that include the square root of 2. For the point, name this subset of the real numbers that be represented as a fraction of two integers. | Rational Numbers (prompt on "Q" before mentioned) |
| A five-pound finding in Claverack, New York that was discovered by a farmer was thought to have belonged to one of these figures. The term "incognitum" was often used to describe these creatures, which Georges Cuvier was the first to propose as distinct from elephants. A marl pit in New York was the setting of a Charles Wilson Peale painting in which a team worked to bring the water level below a threshold that would allow for the exhumation of the then most complete skeleton of one of these animals. For the point, name this extinct American mammoth species. | Mastodon (prompt on "mammoth"; accept Mammut; prompt on "Mammutidae"; do not accept or prompt on "wooly mammoth" or "Columbian mammoth") |
| This quantity is tracked by the OSTM/Jason-2 mission, a follow-on of the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. The change in this quantity caused by changes in volume is referred to as eustasy [[YOO-stah-see]]. The geoid is a hypothetical shape that would be taken if this quantity was only impacted by Earth's gravity and rotation. The primary causes of the rise in this quantity are thermal expansion and glacial melt. For the point, name this oceanic quantity, from which elevation is typically measured. | Sea level (or Sea surface height; or Mean ocean surface) |