Science in Media
Which 2016 movie tells the story of three Black women mathematicians whose work was crucial to NASA's early space program?
Hidden Figures
Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for her research in radioactivity?
Marie Curie
She was also the first PERSON to receive two Noble Prizes: Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911
What subatomic particle has a negative charge?
Electron
What organelle is commonly called "the powerhouse of the cell"?
Mitochondria
What is the only prime number?
2
In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon Cooper's primary field is what branch of physics?
Theoretical physics
True or False: The first computer programmer lived before electronic computers existed.
True
Ada Lovelace wrote an algorithm intended for Charles Babbage's proposed Analytical Engine in the 1800s.
True or False: Hot water can sometimes freeze faster than colder water
True
Under certain conditions. This phenomenon is known as the Mpemba effect.
True or False: Humans only use about 10% of their brains.
False
Different brain regions have different functions, but we use essentially all parts of the brain over time.
True or False: If you flip a fair coin 10 times and get heads every time, the probability of getting heads on the 11th flip is still 50%?
True
Each coin flip is independent, so the previous results do not affect the probability of the next flip
In movies, explosions in space are often accompanied by loud sound effects. Why would an actual explosion in space be silent?
Sound needs a medium to travel through, and space is an almost perfect vacuum
Which chemist's work was fundamental in the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA?
Rosalind Franklin
She used x-ray crystallography to obtain images of DNA, with the most famous image being Photo 51
What is absolute zero approximately in Celsius?
-273°C
Absolute zero is the lowest possible temperature, and it's equal to 0 Kelvin (0K) - the SI unit for temperature.
What structure on plants control gas exchange and water balance via tiny pores on the leaves?
Stomata
In binary, what decimal is represented by 110?
6
In Oppenheimer, the first successful test of a nuclear weapon was given what name?
Trinity
Who was the first woman in space?
Valentina Tereshkova
A soviet cosmonaut, she became the first woman in space in 1963. Sally Ride was the first American woman in space in 1983.
What climate pattern causes strong trade winds and an upwelling on the west coast of the Americas?
La Niña
El Niño is the opposite - brining warm water to the surface
What hormone is released by the pancreas when blood glucose levels rise and signals cells to take up glucose?
Insulin
If f(x)=x2, what is f(f(2))?
16
f(f(2)) --> f(x2) --> f(22) = f(4)
f(4) --> x2 --> 42 = 16
Spider Man can climb walls because of his spider-like abilities. What physical force allows real spiders to adhere to surfaces?
van der Waals forces
Which computer scientist developed the first compiler, the A-0 system?
Grace Hopper
She also helped create the COBOL programming language and popularized the term "debugging"
What does LASER stand for?
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
What equation is used to track genotype frequencies in a population?
p2+2pq+q2=1 (Hardy-Weinberg equation)
p+q=1 refers to the frequency of each allele in a population
Four lab samples are labeled A, B, C, and D. Exactly one sample is contaminated and only one statement is true. Which one is contaminated?
- Sample A says "Sample B is contaminated"
- Sample B says "Sample D is contaminated"
- Sample C says "I am not contaminated"
- Sample D says "Sample B is not contaminated"
Sample C.
If A were contaminated, A=false, B=false, C=true, D=true
If B were contaminated, A=true, B=false, C=true, D=false
If D were contaminated, A=false, B=true, C=true, D=true