Science and Nature

1. What does USB stand for when used to describe the connection standard used between computers and smartphones and their devices?

Universal Serial Bus

2. ‘Zr’ is the symbol for which chemical element?

Zirconium

3. In which modern-day country was the physicist and chemist Marie Curie born?

Poland

4. Which is the largest internal organ in the human body?

Liver

5. Which type of creature is a Barramundi?

Fish

6. Which geological era came first: Mesozoic, Paleozoic or Cenozoic?

Paleozoic (Ended around 248 million years ago, Mesozoic ended around 65 million years ago and Cenozoic began around 65 million years ago and continues to the present)

7. In which century was Sir Isaac Newton born?

17th century (born in 1643)

8. What was the first name of the American astronomer after whom the Hubble telescope was named?

Edwin (Edwin Hubble)

9. Bill Gates is famous for being one of the founders of Microsoft, but who was the other co-founder?

Paul Allen

10. How many wings does a mosquito have?

Two

1. Where in the human body would the limbic system be found?

In the brain

2. Which type of mammal is a gelada?

Monkey (Sometimes called bleeding-heart monkey and found only in Ethiopia)

3. Which part of the body is affected by Gorham’s Disease?

Bones/skeleton 

4. What is the collective noun used for a group of grasshoppers?

A cloud

5. Of what is phonology the study?

Sounds (within a language and across languages – accept all reasonable answers)

6. “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Whose third law is this?

Sir Isaac Newton

7. The MMR vaccine protects against which three diseases?

Measles, mumps and rubella (German measles)

8. Which two letters of the alphabet make up the chemical symbol for mercury?

Hg

9. An ‘epiphyte’ is an organism that grows on the surface of what?

A plant (Eg. moss or lichens)

10. A ‘light breeze’ of between 4 and 7 miles per hour would read as which number on the Beaufort Wind Force scale?

2 (0 = calm, 12 = hurricane)

1. In which part of the human body would you find the atlas bone?

Spine/back

2. Which planet in our solar system is farthest from the sun?

Neptune (Pluto is no longer considered a planet)

3. Which chemical element has the symbol Cr?

Chromium

4. ‘Yukon Gold’ and ‘Russian Banana’ are both varieties of which foodstuff?

Potato

5. Which noun is used for a ferret under one year old?

Kit

6. Of what is ‘cynophobia’ a fear?

Dogs

7. Which famous American is generally credited with the invention of the bifocal spectacles?

Benjamin Franklin

8. What was the name of the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the moon in 1959?

Luna 2 (Lunik 2. Apollo 11 in 1969 was the first manned mission)

9. Of what is ‘epistemology’ the study?

Knowledge

10. What does GIF stand for, a type of compressed, static or animated image file?

Graphics Interchange Format

To download the science and nature quiz as a PDF contestant question paper, please click on the grey box below:

Muscle Quiz – Where in the human body would you find the following muscles?

1. Deltoid

Top of arm/shoulder

2. Soleus

Lower leg/calf

3. Masseter

Jaw/face

4. Adductor Longus

Inner thigh

5. Occipitofrontalis

Skull/head

6. Adductor pollicis

Hand

7. Scalene muscles

Neck (Three muscles in the neck)

8. Adductor Hallucis

Foot

9. Biceps brachii

Upper arm

10. Pectoralis major

Chest

To download our ‘Muscle Quiz’ as a PDF contestant question paper, with printed questions plus spaces for answers, please click on the grey box below:

1. The Colorado Beetle is a major pest of which type of crop?

Potato

2. Rose gold gains its colour from adding which metal to the gold?

Copper (Silver is also sometimes added to the alloy, but the rose colour is gained by the addition of copper)

3. Myopia is the technical term for which condition of the human eye?

Nearsightedness

4. What fraction of a second is a microsecond?

One millionth of a second

5. Where on the body of a horse would you find the gaskin?

On the hind leg (muscular part between the stifle and the hock)

6. What would a woman be suffering from if she had hirsutism?

Excess hair growth

7. In mathematics, what is the value of π (pi) to two decimal places?

3.14

8. Approximately what percentage of the Earth’s surface is covered by water: 61%, 71% or 81%?

71%

9. What is the two-letter symbol used to signify the element of iron?

Fe

10. The Beaufort Wind Force Scale ranges from zero up to which number, representing a hurricane?

12

1. Approximately how many centimetres are equivalent to two inches?

5 (5.08cm)

2. Which number on the pH scale would indicate a neutral substance?

7

3. What is the primary function of red blood cells in the human body?

To transport oxygen around the body

4. On which continent do giraffes live in the wild?

Africa

5. Of what is petrology the study?

Rocks (and how they form)

6. Which English scientist is credited as having invented the World Wide web in 1989?

Tim Berners-Lee (Sir Timothy Berners-Lee)

7. In which year was Concorde officially retired?

2003

8. Rf is the symbol for which chemical element?

Rutherfordium (named after Ernest Rutherford)

9. What is measured by the Mohs scale?

Mineral hardness

10. Where in the human skeleton would you find the maxilla?

In the skull (upper jawbone)

1. Which type of mammal was the first to be launched into space?

Monkey (a rhesus monkey named Albert II was launched into space by the USA in June 1949)

2. Which invention came first: Velcro or the zip?

Zip (Final version launched in 1913 – Velcro wasn’t patented until 1955)

3. What name is given in mechanics to the pivot, point or support about which a lever turns?

Fulcrum

4. Heliocentrism is the astronomical model of what?

Planets revolving around the sun

5. What is the Fahrenheit equivalent of one hundred degrees Celsius?

212 degrees Fahrenheit (Boiling point of water)

6. Which common machine was invented by Edwin Budding in 1830?

Lawn mower

7. Which planet is smaller: Saturn, Uranus or Neptune?

Neptune (Saturn is the largest of the three)

8. ‘Czar’, ‘Jefferson’ and ‘Warwickshire Drooper’ are popular UK varieties of which fruit?

Plum

9. Which has the largest wingspan of any living bird?

Albatross (Wandering Albatross)

10. The parathyroid glands regulate the level of which mineral in the human body?

Calcium

1. On which of the planets in our solar system would you weigh the most?

Jupiter (2.34 times your weight on Earth)

2. In which part of the human body does mydriasis occur?

The eye (name for the dilation of the pupil)

3. How many molar teeth are in a fully-developed adult’s mouth? 

12 (including 4 wisdom teeth)

4. Do sound waves travel faster through water or through steel?

Steel (over 3 times as fast)

5. Where in the human body would you find the soleus muscle?

In the leg (back of the calf) 

6. The French inventor Joseph-Marie Jacquard revolutionized the textile industry when he developed a programmable version of what type of machine in 1804?

Loom (Jacquard loom)

7. Who won both the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911?

Marie Curie

8. What does ADHD stand for?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

9. The genus ‘Quercus’ is the scientific term for which type of tree?

Oak

10. The chemical element fermium (Fm) was named after which Italian-American physicist?

Enrico Fermi (creator of the world’s first nuclear reactor)

1. Which German mathematician, astrologer and astronomer defined three laws of planetary motion, describing the movement of planets around the sun?

Johannes Kepler

2. Which chemical element’s neo-Latin name is Kalium, from which its symbol is derived?

Potassium (Symbol is K)

3. According to Sigmund Freud’s model of the psyche, the human personality can be separated into three elements: the ego, the super-ego and what?

The id

4. A ‘keloid’ on the human body is a type of what?

Scar

5. The world’s first commercial nuclear power station was opened in which country in 1956?

UK (Calder Hall – Later expanded to become Sellafield)

6. In which year did Yuri Gagarin become the first human to travel into outer space?

1961

7. In which part of the human body would the limbic system be found?

In the brain

8. Which New Zealand-born British physicist came to be known as ‘the father of nuclear physics’?

Ernest Rutherford

9. Which English inventor is best known for inventing the wind-up, or clockwork radio?

Trevor Baylis

10. Which chemical element is sometimes also known as quicksilver?

Mercury

1. A ‘cama’ is a hybrid which is a cross between which two other animals?

Camel and llama

2. Chinstrap and Humboldt are species of which type of bird?

Penguin

3. Which colour does litmus paper turn with a neutral reading of pH7?

Purple (The paper comes in both red and blue – Neutral will always be purple. Universal indicator paper is different – this turns green in a neutral solution)

4. Which is the longest river in Europe?

Volga

5. The phenomenon of light changing direction when it passes through another medium is known as what?

Refraction

6. Which element has the atomic number 1?

Hydrogen

7. Zero degrees Celsius is equal to what reading on the Fahrenheit scale?

32

8. Which is the longest bone in the human body?

Femur (Thigh)

9. What word beginning with ‘A’ is the name for tiny air sacks which sit in the lungs and are at the end of the respiratory tree?

Alveoli (singular: alveolus)

10. Is it true or false that dogs cannot see colour?

False – Contrary to popular belief dogs can see colour, but the variation in colour they can see is more limited than our own

1. Bakelite, the world’s first fully synthetic plastic, was patented in which decade?

1900s (Patent was filed in 1907 and granted in 1909)

2. What is the name of the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths?

Lepidoptera

3. How many discs are there in a human spine: 13, 23 or 33?

23

4. Which planet in our solar system has the most moons?

Jupiter (69 confirmed moons as of 2017)

5. What is the chemical symbol for the element mercury?

Hg

6. The adjective ‘hircine’ refers to which animal?

Goat

7. ‘Saki’ and ‘Patas’ are types of which animal?

Monkey

8. Which two-word term is often used as a name for a biogas produced in wetland areas which consists predominantly of methane?

Marsh gas (‘Swamp gas’ or ‘bog gas’ equally acceptable)

9. If you suffered from ophidiophobia which animal would you be afraid of?

Snakes

10. What is the standard unit of electrical resistance?

Ohm

1. In Einstein’s theory of relativity, E = mc², what does the ‘E’ represent?

Energy

2. Which term is given to a baby koala?

Joey (All infant marsupials have the same term)

3. An ECG is a test for the heart – what does it stand for?

Electrocardiogram

4. Of what is nephrology the study?

The kidneys (physiology and diseases of)

5. In which year did Cornwall’s Eden Project open to the public?

2001

6. How many months is the average gestation period of an elephant?

22 months

7. What type of animal was Albert II, the first mammal launched into space?

Rhesus monkey

8. From which part of a cow is brisket taken?

Just below the shoulder/along the chest/breast

9. ‘V’ is the symbol for which chemical element?

Vanadium

10. Achalasia is a disorder which prevents the human body from doing what?

Swallowing (Disorder of the oesophagus whereby it cannot move food along)

Science quiz questions

1. The olecranon can be found in which human limb?

The arm (The bony tip of the elbow)

2. How is a ‘myocardial infarction’ more commonly known?

Heart attack

3. Which is the second largest planet in our solar system?

Saturn (Jupiter is largest)

4. What is the chemical formula for table salt?

NaCl (Sodium chloride)

5. Which has more bones; a human hand or a human foot?

Hand (Had 27 bones, a foot has 26)

6. A leveret is the young of which animal?

Hare

7. How many chambers are there in a human heart?

Four

8. The UK electricity supply is 230 volts (no longer 240 volts), what is the standard in North America?

120 volts

9. What is a shaduf?

An irrigation tool, used to lift water

10. The ‘Pascal’ is a unit measurement of what?

Pressure (SI derived unit of pressure, defined as one Newton per square metre)

To download the science quiz as a PDF contestant question paper, with questions only plus spaces for contestant answers, please click on the grey box below:

The following quiz involves the common and scientific names of bones. We will give you the common name and you need to give us the correct scientific term for that bone.

1. Skull

Cranium

2. Collar bone

Clavicle

3. Shoulder blade

Scapula

4. Shin bone

Tibia

5. Hip bone

Pelvis

6. Breastbone

Sternum

7. Kneecap

Patella

8. Jawbone

Mandible

9. Thigh bone

Femur

10. Tailbone

Coccyx

To download our ‘names of bones’ quiz as a contestant question paper, with questions only plus spaces for contestant answers, please click on the grey box below:

1. What type of creature is a kakapo?

A flightless, ground-dwelling parrot (accept bird)

2. ‘Toggenburg’ and ‘Pygora’ are breeds of which farm animal?

Goat

3. Which word is used as the noun for a female alligator?

Cow

4. Of what is ‘silvics’ the study?

Trees and their environment

5. What is chemical formula for sulphur dioxide?

SO₂

6. Which English mathematician, philosopher and inventor designed the ‘Difference Engine’, which is generally considered to be the first mechanical computer?

Charles Babbage

7. ‘Gossamer’ is a substance produced by which creatures?

Spiders

8. Which NASA programme produced the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and complete its mission?

Viking (1)

9. ‘Epistaxis’ is the scientific name for which reasonable common bodily occurrence?

Nosebleed

10. How many wings has a dragonfly?

4

1. Of what is myology the study?

The muscular system/muscles

2. How many of the eight planets in our solar system have moons?

6 (only Mercury and Venus have no moons)

3. Which element comes second in the periodic table and therefore has the atomic number 2?

Helium

4. What is the most abundant element in the Earth’s crust (by mass)?

Oxygen (46.6% followed by silicon (27.7%), aluminium (8.1%) and iron (5%))

5. Which scientific instrument is used to measure atmospheric pressure?

Barometer

6. Vitamin B₂ is more commonly known by which name?

Riboflavin

7. Which part of a flower produces pollen?

Stamen (anther more specifically)

8. How many hearts does an octopus have?

3

9. ‘Bellis perennis’ is the scientific name for which flower commonly found in the wild in Britain?

Daisy

10. In terms of height, which is the world’s largest dog breed?

Great Dane

1. Sn is the symbol for which chemical element?

Tin

2. On which planet in our solar system is a day longer than a year?

Venus (Venus rotates on its axis once every 243 Earth days and takes 224.7 Earth days to orbit the sun)

3. Where in the human skeleton would you find the sphenoid bone?

In the skull (near the front, so also accept face as an answer) 

4. How many of the manned Apollo missions successfully landed humans on the moon and brought them safely back to Earth?

Six (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17)

5. Which human genetic disorder only affects females and occurs when a girl is born with only one X chromosome, instead of the usual two?

Turner syndrome

6. If the adjective for describing a dog is canine and cat is feline, what adjective is used for a wasp?

Vespine

7. An ECG can be used to check the heart’s rhythm and electrical activity but what does ECG stand for?

Electrocardiogram

8. Which astronomical unit of distance is approximately equal to 3.26 light years?

Parsec

9. Which organ in the human body produces, stores and releases glucose?

The liver

10. ‘Calabrese’, ‘Arcadia’ and ‘Blue Wind’ are varieties of which green vegetable?

Broccoli

1. A ‘gale’ is the description of which number on the Beaufort Wind Force scale?

8

2. ‘Aquiline’ is an adjective which describes something as being like which creature?

Eagle

3. A ‘Finnish Spitz’ is a rare breed of which animal?

Dog

4. Which scientist wrote the 1976 book entitled ‘The Selfish Gene’?

Richard Dawkins

5. Which of the planets in our solar system orbits the sun in the shortest amount of time?

Mercury (Approximately 88 Earth days)

6. ‘Rhinorrhoea’ is the correct medical term for which common condition?

Runny nose

7. What, precisely, is Ornithophily?

Bird pollination/the pollination of flowering plants by birds

8. What is the hardest substance in the human body?

Tooth enamel

9. The auditory ossicles are three tiny bones in the ear sometimes called the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup. What are the three alternative scientific terms for these three bones?

Malleus, incus and stapes

10. As an internet user your device will have an IP address so that it can be identified and can communicate over a network. What does ‘IP’ stand for?

Internet Protocol