| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| This scientist was awarded a gold medal by King Louis the Fifteenth for an essay on urban street lighting. In Elementary Treatise on Chemistry, this scientist articulated the law of conservation of mass and explained oxygen’s role in combustion. For the point, name this pioneering chemist who was executed during the Reign of Terror. | Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier [[la-VWAH-syeh]] |
| This biological order includes species such as the mountain degu and voles. The largest species in this order, a capybara, is native to South America, and members of this order's prairie dogs create large, interconnected burrows called "towns.” For the point, name this biological order including mice and rats. | Rodents (or Rodentia) |
| The thickness of these simple machines is determined by their minor and major diameters. American National, Buttress, and Knuckle are standard thread classifications of these simple machines, which include a shank and a head. For the point, name these simple machines that consist of an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder. | Screws |
| The value of this entity may be calculated using an algorithm developed by the Chudnovsky brothers, whose algorithm was based on the work of Srinivasa Ramanujan. The upper and lower bounds of this entity were estimated by calculating the perimeters of circumscribed and inscribed polygons. For the point, name this number that can be approximated as 22 over 7 and which begins as 3.14. | Pi (accept 3.14159 before mentioned) |
| Since 2010, this man’s namesake “number” has been estimated to be 300 sextillion, quantifying the number of stars in the observable universe. This author of The Dragons of Eden also wrote the book Pale Blue Dot. For the point, name this astrophysicist and science communicator who co-wrote and narrated the PBS television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. | Carl Sagan |
| These substances are referred to as "poisoned" when their active sites are inactivated by the bonding of another substance. These substances are classified as either heterogeneous or homogeneous, depending on whether they share their state of matter with the substrate. For the point, name these substances used to speed up reactions. | Catalysts |
| This force is demonstrated by an experiment known as the Cartesian devil. The magnitude of this force, which is the product of fluid density, gravitational acceleration, and volume of displaced fluid, on an object is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. Archimedes discovered, for the point, what upward force, the ability of an object to float when submerged in water? | Buoyancy (accept Buoyant Force; accept Upthrust) |
| An atmometer measures the rate of this process. This process in plants is used as a temperature regulation mechanism through transpiration, and a salt pan can be formed when the rate of this process exceeds the rate of precipitation. For the point, name this process in which a liquid becomes a gas. | Evaporation (prompt on “Vaporization”) |
| This organ is slowly destroyed in Hashimoto’s disease, and eye bulging is a classic symptom of a condition of this organ known as Graves’ disease. Another condition of this organ is prevented by adding iodine to table salt. For the point, name this endocrine organ in the neck that becomes enlarged in a goiter [[GOY-tur]]. | Thyroid |
| The Lincoln-Petersen method for estimating this quantity is also called "mark-and- recapture." This quantity positively correlates with average fitness in the Allee effect, which can stem from cooperative defense against predators. The carrying capacity is defined as an environment's maximum value for, for the point, what quantity, the number of organisms in each group? | Population Size (accept either underlined answer; accept Population Density; prompt on descriptions like “number of animals”) |
| These objects were the center of the Soviet Union’s Lunokhod program, in which its original product disintegrated upon launch in 1969. Five of these vehicles were launched by NASA to Mars, including twins Spirit and Opportunity, as well as its most recent launch, Perseverance. For the point, name these robotic vehicles that explore the surface of another planet. | Rovers (prompt on “Vehicles” or descriptive answers) |
| Cysteine residues are linked together by the disulfide bonds within these molecules, whose secondary structure includes beta-sheets and alpha-helices. These macromolecules spontaneously fold after they are formed by translation at the ribosome. For the point, name these molecules consisting of long chains of amino acids. | Proteins (accept Polypeptides) |
| Cantor’s original diagonal argument proved that these types of numbers are uncountable. These types of numbers can be considered as an extension of the rational numbers, since it also includes irrational numbers, such as pi. For the point, identify these types of numbers, usually denoted by boldface R. | Real Numbers (accept R before mentioned; respond, “be more general” to any answer of “Irrational,” “Whole,” or “Natural” Numbers or “Integers”) |
| Air masses moving over a warm body of water can produce large amounts of the lake effect type of this substance. Individual units of this substance are created when a speck of dust nucleates supercooled water around it. For the point, name this form of precipitation, which manifests in frozen flakes. | Snow (accept Lake Effect Snow; accept Snowflakes) |
| One theory surrounding the cause of this phenomenon is that it is generated by Alfvén waves as it travels towards the Earth. This phenomenon is caused by the collision of gases in the Earth’s upper atmosphere with electrons and protons. For the point, name this colorful display in the night sky, also known as the “Northern Lights." | Aurora Borealis (accept Northern Lights before mentioned; accept Aurora Australis; accept Southern Lights; accept Polar Lights) |
| T-tubules in this tissue help regulate calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The "sliding filament" model describes how strands of actin and myosin bind each other to cause the contraction of this tissue. For the point, name this tissue that makes up the hamstrings and biceps, and which is more flexible than bone tissue. | Muscle |
| This value names a line segment that joins a triangle's vertex to the midpoint of its opposite side. A measure described by this value is shown as the central line of a box-and- whisker plot and is also referred to as the second quartile. For the point, name this measure that indicates the center better than the mean or mode, the "middle" value in a data set. | Median |
| The ratio of two isotopes of this element in ice cores is used to measure historical temperatures. Cyanobacteria, which produce a gaseous form of this element, caused a so- called "catastrophe" 2.4 billion years ago that killed all anaerobic microbes. For the point, name this gaseous element produced by photosynthesis, whose formula is O-2. | Oxygen (accept O before mentioned) |
| The optical versions of these devices identify their namesake substance through the diffraction of laser light, and the ionization versions of these devices utilize americium-241 as an alpha emitter. These devices repeat short, high-pitched beeps when their batteries are low. For the point, name these devices that alert people to the presence of a fire. | Smoke Detectors |
| The ability to measure this quantity, along with position, for particles is challenged by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. In elastic collisions, both kinetic energy and this quantity are conserved. Kilogram-meter per second is the SI unit of, for the point, what quantity defined as the product of mass and velocity? | Momentum (accept Linear Momentum; accept Translational Momentum; prompt on "P") |
| This organ detects swelling via the distensions in the trigone, and E. Coli infections of this organ can result in a condition called cystitis. Contraction of the detrusor muscle allows this organ to drain, and this organ is connected to the kidneys by a pair of ureters. The urethra drains, for the point, what hollow organ that stores urine? | Urinary Bladder |
| The "splitting" of this substance provides electrons to the OEC complex in Photosystem Two. The "cohesion-tension" theory describes the movement of this substance through tracheids [[tray-KEE-ihds]] and vessel elements. Through a leaf's stomata, transpiration releases, for the point, what liquid, which is absorbed from the soil by a plant's roots? | Water (or H2O) |
| In 1995, the Galileo spacecraft explored this celestial body and determined that much of its water was located near its equator. The Juno spacecraft is currently orbiting this planet, which was first visited by Pioneer Ten. Europa, Io [[“EYE”-oh]], and Ganymede are moons of, for the point, what largest planet in the Solar System? | Jupiter |
| This man showed the importance of handwashing by using red and blue string to represent Coronavirus. This current CEO of the Planetary Society demonstrated how atoms are uncuttable by continuously cutting a wheel of cheese. For the point, name this bow-tie wearing personality whose educational show branded him as “the Science Guy.” | Bill Nye (or William Sanford Nye; accept Bill Nye the Science Guy) |
| One part of this tool is called a “path,” which is separated by the hostname with a forward slash. Two forward slashes end the beginning of this tool called a “scheme,” which contains the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. For the point, name this unique identifier, typically ending with a dot-org or dot-com, that uses a web address to access different sites on the Internet. | URL (or Universal Resource Locator; accept Web Address or website before “web” is mentioned; prompt on "URI" or "Uniform Resource Identifier") |
| This structure contains two horseshoe-shaped cartilage components known as the lateral and medial meniscus. In humans, these structures, which is prevented from rotating improperly by the MCL and ACL ligaments, contain a large sesamoid bone known as the patella, or this structure’s namesake "cap." For the point, name this joint that connects the lower leg to the thigh. | Knee (accept Kneecap; prompt on "Leg") |
| In March 2022, a fossil of this specimen, known as “Stan,” was sold in auction for the record price of $31.8 million. One of the largest fossils of this specimen, nicknamed “Sue,” is on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, although its real skull is not included. For the point, name this genus of dinosaur whose name means “king of the tyrant lizards.” | Tyrannosaurus Rex (or T-Rex; prompt on “Dinosaur”) |
| The butterfly effect is used to explain that the reliability of this technique drops beyond ten days. Data useful for this technique is collected by a radiosonde, which is attached to a balloon and collects information such barometric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. For the point, name this task performed by meteorologists. | Weather Forecasting (accept clear-knowledge equivalents; prompt on “Meteorology”) |
| People engaging in this activity may experience “the bends,” which occurs when quick ascension prevents nitrogen from leaving the bloodstream. Part of the equipment used for this activity includes an octopus, consisting of a regulator that delivers pressurized oxygen to the mouth. For the point, name this form of diving where an apparatus is used to breathe underwater. | Scuba Diving (or Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus; prompt on “Diving”; prompt on "Deep Sea Diving") |
| Large, round structures named for this compound are a common petroleum trap used off the American Gulf Coast. Evaporation of aqueous solutions of this compound leave behind its namesake flats, which contain this compound's mineral form, halite. For the point, name this ionic compound, commonly used to season and preserve food. | Table Salt (or Sodium Chloride; accept NaCl; accept Halite before read) |
| The metal form of this element was first isolated by Humphrey Davy in 1808, and the powder form of this element was used in the early days of photography to illuminate subjects. This element, which makes up thirteen percent of Earth’s mass, produces a white light when burning in air. For the point, name this shiny gray alkaline metal whose atomic number is 12. | Magnesium |
| This quantity is calculated using the sines of the angles of incidence in Snell’s Law. When theta is greater than the arcsine of the ratio of two of these quantities, total internal reflection occurs. For the point, name this quantity, the ratio of the speed of light in a given medium to the speed of light in a vacuum. | Refractive Index (or Refraction Index) |