FunTrivia Sci / Tech Mix: Vol 21 Quiz

Answer: Nephrologist

Nephrologists focus on how the kidneys work and evaluate the function of the kidneys. Urologists are more concerned with anatomical kidney problems and deal with the rest of the urinary tract as well.

Question by player tritran5555

Answer: Phoenix

The NASA Mars Polar Lander (1999), designed to examine the soil and climate at the Martian south polar region, failed to properly fire its descent engine and crashed on the surface. The Mars Surveyor Lander (2001), cancelled because of the failures of the Mars Climate Orbiter (1998-9) and Mars Polar Lander missions, was one of two components of the Mars Surveyor 2001 project, its companion spacecraft Mars Odyssey (2001) successfully orbiting Mars.

The Phoenix spacecraft recycled the lander from Mars Surveyor, built by Lockheed Martin and preserved in an environmentally controlled clean room, as well as several instruments from both that mission and the previous Mars Polar Lander. Phoenix itself was declared a success after completing all of its mission objectives, including a search for environments suitable for microbial life and research on the history of water in the Martian north polar region.

Question by player Humanist

Answer: Eucalyptus

The eucalyptus tree is called the "widow maker" because of its propensity to drop heavy limbs and its shallow root system. Both are survival mechanisms for the trees. A shallow root system improves survival rates where rainfall is limited. However, winds that cause the tree to sway can tear the shallow roots, causing the tree to topple.

In cases of severe drought, the tree will shed some large branches to lessen the amount of water needed to ensure the tree's survival. Disease will also cause limb shedding.

Question by player Kip1Usa

Answer: in an animal cell

The Golgi body (often called the "Golgi apparatus") is an organelle of the animal cell. It is not found in plant cells. It is sometimes referred to as the "post office" of the cell due to its "packaging" of proteins.

Question by player trident

Answer: Triacontagon

A triacontagon is also known as a 30-gon. Its interior angles add up to 5040 degrees.

Question by player JepRD

Answer: Carbon dioxide and Oxygen

Oxygen is produced as a by-product of photosynthesis in plants. During photosynthesis, water molecules are 'split', a process of great interest to scientists trying to find energetically more favorable means of generating hydrogen gas (for fuel). Photosynthesis also consumes carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere; the carbon is then used to create ('synthesize') new cellular material for plant growth. Respiration is the complex sequence of processes associated with the breakdown (decomposition) of dead cellular material from plants and animals, which also usually consumes oxygen and generates carbon dioxide and nutrients essential for further cell growth.

Hence both of these gases are 'cycled' (generated and consumed) in the pairing of photosynthesis and respiration.

Question by player MikeMaster99

Answer: Germanium

Germanium is the only real element - geranium is a flower; geraldium and gerrymandon came from my imagination. Germanium has the atomic number 32, and was discovered by Clemens Alexander Winkler, a German chemist, in 1886. It is extremely rare and is a silvery grey metalloid.

Question by player VegemiteKid

Answer: Weber

The magnetic flux is a measure of the magnetic field strength over a given surface area. The unit is named in honor of Wilhelm Eduard Weber (1804 - 1891), who worked with Gauss on the first magnetic electromagnetic telegraph. 'Maxwell' is also a unit of magnetic flux, but in the cgs system 1 Weber = 10^8 Maxwell.

Question by player MikeMaster99

Answer: Muscles of heart

Cardiomyopathies usually indicate a defect in the cardiac muscle (muscles in the heart). There are three types of cardiomyopathies - dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive. Regardless of the type, this condition can be life threatening and cause symptoms such as irregular heart beats. Cardiomyopathies can be caused by genetics as well as other factors such as alcohol. Cardiomyopathies have also been noted to occur in the mother after childbirth.

Question by player Saleo

Answer: chess and checkers (draughts)

The first working A.I. programs were written to run on the Ferranti Mark 1 machine of the University of Manchester. One program, written by Christopher Strachey, played checkers (draughts) whilst the other played chess and was written by Dietrich Prinz.

Their games were not sufficient to challenge an amateur player. The term "artificial intelligence" had not even been coined yet when Strachey and Prinz wrote their games in 1951. (That would be in 1956).

Question by player gracious1