Cell Division
Weird and Wild Science
Ecosystems and Food Webs
Earth Science
Potluck
100
What type of cell division is used to heal a cut on your skin?
Mitosis
100
Humans share approximately this percentage of DNA with bananas.
What is about 60%?
100
A wolf eats a deer. The deer eats grass. The wolf is this type of organism.
a consumer (or tertiary/top predator)?
100
The principle of superposition says that in undisturbed rock layers, the oldest layer is found here.
at the bottom
100
Answer: 0.3 is 0.025% of 1,200 — essentially zero relative to the limit. Yes, safe to eat. Full credit for correct math and a clear conclusion.
Sugar dissolves faster (smaller molecular structure, though both dissolve; accept either with reasonable justification)
200
How many daughter cells (or new cells) does Mitosis and Meiosis produce?What is 2 (mitosis) and 4 (meiosis)?
2 (mitosis) and 4 (meiosis)
200
Your stomach gets a brand new lining approximately every this many days — because mitosis replaces the cells that get destroyed by stomach acid.
What is 3–5 days?
200
Using the 10% energy rule: if plants store 100,000 kg of energy, how much energy is available to deer that eat those plants?
10,000 kg?
200
The 2011 Fukushima earthquake happened because the Pacific plate did this to the Eurasian plate.
What is subducted beneath it (slid under it)?
200
Antibiotics cure viral infections like the common cold or flu. TRUE or FALSE?
Answer: FALSE (antibiotics only work on bacterial infections, not viruses)
300
Mitosis stages: prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase
300
A person's body temperature is normally 98.6°F. After running in heat, it rises to 102°F. The body responds by sweating. This is an example of this type of feedback loop — the same one that failed in heat stroke.
What is a negative feedback loop?
300
A trophic cascade begins when a top predator is removed. Name TWO things that would likely happen to a forest ecosystem if all wolves were permanently removed.
Answer: Deer/elk population explodes → overgrazing → vegetation loss → soil erosion → other species lose habitat. Accept any two logical chain reactions.
300
This is the term for the layer of rock that makes up the ocean floor and slides beneath continental plates at subduction zones.(Hint... there are two kinds of crust. Continental and the answer to this question)
What is oceanic crust?
300
You're cooking and the recipe says "let the dough rise in a warm place." What scientific process makes bread dough rise?
Fermentation (yeast produces carbon dioxide gas)
400
Mitosis makes identical copies. Meiosis does NOT — it shuffles DNA on purpose. Explain why genetic diversity from meiosis is actually an advantage for a species.
Answer: Genetic diversity means some individuals may survive disease, climate change, or other threats — making the species more likely to survive as a whole.
400
Lightning strikes Earth approximately this many times per second — and each bolt is about 5 times hotter than the surface of the Sun.
What is about 100 times per second?
400
A student claims: "Removing 60% of the elk in Yellowstone was harmful to the ecosystem." The data shows elk dropped from 19,000 to 6,000 — but willows, beavers, and songbirds all recovered. Is the student's claim supported, partially supported, or not supported? Explain.
Answer: Partially supported — the math is correct (~68% decline) but the conclusion ignores ecosystem-wide recovery. Full credit for addressing both the data AND the bigger picture.
400
Spring tides occur when the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun combine to create the highest high tides and lowest low tides.
When do spring tides happen?
A. When the Moon and Sun are at right angles to Earth
B. When the Moon is closest to Earth only
C. When the Earth, Moon, and Sun are aligned
D. When the Sun’s gravity is weaker than the Moon’s
C. When the Earth, Moon, and Sun are aligned
400
You get a shocking zap when you touch a doorknob after walking on carpet. What type of electricity is this?
Answer: Static electricity
500
Mitosis (My toe sis!)
500
A bluefin tuna caught off the coast of California in 2012 contained trace amounts of cesium-137 from the Fukushima disaster. The FDA limit is 1,200 Bq/kg. The tuna tested at 0.3 Bq/kg. Using percentages, how far below the safety limit was the tuna — and was it safe to eat?
Answer: 0.3 is 0.025% of 1,200 — essentially zero relative to the limit. Yes, safe to eat. Full credit for correct math and a clear conclusion.
500
In a forest ecosystem, the number of hawks suddenly decreases. Over time, the population of mice increases, while the number of plants begins to decline.
Which statement best explains these changes?
A. Hawks directly provide food for plants
B. Fewer predators allowed the mouse population to grow
C. Mice began producing more energy for the ecosystem
D. Plants increased competition with hawks
B. Fewer predators allowed the mouse population to grow
500
The 2011 tsunami near Fukushima was caused by a powerful undersea earthquake.
What caused this earthquake?
A. Two tectonic plates moved apart, creating a volcanic eruption
B. One tectonic plate slid beneath another, causing a sudden shift in the seafloor
C. Wind and ocean currents pushed water toward the shore
D. A meteor impact displaced ocean water
Bonus: extra 100 pts if you can give the scientific term for this.
B. One tectonic plate slid beneath another, causing a sudden shift in the seafloor
500
Two objects of the same size—one heavy and one lightweight—are dropped at the same time from the top of the Empire State Building.
Which statement best describes what will happen?
A. The heavier object will land first because it has more mass
B. The lighter object will land first because it has less resistance
C. Both objects will land at the same time because gravity pulls equally on all objects
D. The heavier object will fall slower because it has more inertia
C. Both objects will land at the same time because gravity pulls equally on all objects