Science
What gas do humans need to breathe in order to survive?
Oxygen
What is the largest continent by land area?
Asia
Which ancient civilization built Machu Picchu?
The Inca
What term describes a political system in which citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf?
Representative democracy
What is the fastest land animal in the world?
Cheetah
What force keeps planets in orbit around the Sun?
Gravity
What is the longest river in South America?
Amazon River
What event in 1492 is traditionally considered the beginning of sustained European contact with the Americas?
Columbus’s voyage
What is the principle that divides government power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches?
Separation of powers
What is the only letter that does not appear in the name of any U.S. state?
Q
What organelle is known as the “powerhouse of the cell” because it produces most of the cell’s ATP?
Mitochondria
What is the largest ocean on Earth?
Pacific Ocean
Which treaty formally ended World War I between Germany and the Allied Powers?
Treaty of Versailles
How many votes are needed in the U.S. Senate to overcome a filibuster under the standard cloture rule?
60
Which element has the chemical symbol W?
Tungsten
If an object’s velocity doubles, what happens to its kinetic energy?
It quadruples.
(Kinetic energy = ½mv².)
What geographical phenomenon occurs when a river deposits sediment at its mouth, often creating a triangular landform?
Delta
What 1884–85 conference established the European rules for claiming territory in Africa?
Berlin Conference
What is the constitutional principle that allows courts to invalidate laws that violate the Constitution?
Judicial review
Which country has won the most Nobel Prizes in Physics?
United States
What fundamental law states that entropy in an isolated system can never decrease?
The Second Law of Thermodynamics.
What is the name of the ocean current responsible for much of Western Europe's relatively mild climate?
Gulf Stream
What was the primary political conflict between the Royalists and Parliamentarians during the English Civil War?
Treaty of Versailles
What political theory argues that governments derive their legitimate authority from the consent of the governed?
Social contract theory
What is the smallest bone in the human body?
Stapes