FunTrivia Sci / Tech Mix: Vol 29 Quiz

Answer: nuclear fission

Nuclear fission involves splitting the atom of an unstable, radioactive isotope. 'Little Boy', the a-bomb dropped on Hiroshima, was a uranium bomb. The reaction starts as a neutron is shot at a Uranium-235 atom, splitting it into Barium-141, Krypton-92, and three free neutrons (and releasing energy).

The neutrons then collide with other Uranium-235 atoms, creating a massive chain reaction that is controlled in nuclear reactors but is uncontrolled in nuclear bombs.

Question by player redsoxfan325

Answer: Keratin

Keratin is produced by the epidermis and forms the main component of hair, nails, feathers, horns, hooves, claws and the dead outer layers of skin cells. It can be hard and inflexible, like hooves and horns or soft, as in the case of skin and hair.
KERATITIS is inflammation of the cornea, KEROSINE is a fuel used in lamps and domestic heating systems (paraffin), KETAMINE is an anaesthetic used in veterinary medicine, and is also a recreational drug.

Question by player tjongololo

Answer: Theobromine

Formerly known as xantheose, theobromine is a bitter tasting alkaloid found in the seeds of cacao plants which are used to make chocolate. Because animals metabolise this compound more slowly than humans, it can have a very negative effect on them, particularly so on small dogs and cats. Cats are less inclined to eat chocolate than dogs because they lack sweet taste receptors, but overall negative effects on both animals can include dehydration, excitability, interference in normal heart rate, epileptic type seizures, and even death. An over consumption of chocolate by humans results in theobromine negative effects of shaking, sweating, bad headaches and mood swings.

Question by player Creedy

Answer: Gases

Boyle's Law describes the inverse relationship of the pressure and volume of a gas. This means that if a gas is put into a smaller volume, the pressure will increase. Charles' Law states that as the temperature of a gas increases it will occupy a greater volume.

Question by player pagea

Answer: Oxygen

Oxygen is the eighth element on the periodic table, and the first whose name begins with a vowel. The next is aluminum at number 13.

Question by player timence

Answer: Mensa

Mensa is a small southern constellation named for the Table Mountain near the Cape of Good Hope. Part of the Large Magellanic Cloud is located in Mensa. Pegasus, Orion and Cepheus are all featured in Greek mythology.

Question by player StetsonHat

Answer: Multiples of a basic unit

The Greek prefixes: "deca, hecto and kilo" in metric conversions are used for a multiple of the basic units: "metre, gramme or other units", as it clearly makes the stated quantities: length, mass or other measured quantities to be greater than the unit that represents their measure.

For example, kilo (which is a Greek prefix) is equal to a thousand of a certain basic unit of a quantity, i.e. a kilogramme equals to a thousand grammes of a mass measure.

Question by player Nzewi_kene

Answer: Ceres

Ceres was named for the Roman goddess of agriculture and even had its own symbol ⟨⚳⟩ for a time. Giuseppe Piazzi, a Catholic priest, discovered Ceres on 1 January 1801. Like Pluto it was demoted when other similar bodies were found and it became just one of many asteroids until the whole dwarf planet classification was created.

Question by player havan_ironoak

Answer: Fern

Ferns do not produce seeds - they reproduce via spores. They are non-flowering too and their leaves are known as fronds. Bracken is widespread and probably the best known of the ferns. Its rhizomes spread underground meaning that the plant can cover large areas of ground. Bracken is often found on moorland and heaths.

Question by player rossian

Answer: 10 months

The Soviet Union was the winner in the space race by placing Sputnik in orbit in October 1957. The Soviets also placed the first human in space when Yuri Gagarin went into orbit on April 12, 1961. The U.S. put their first man in space when Alan Shepard made a foray into space in May 1961, but he just went up and down and didn't make a planetary orbit.

The U.S. caught up with John Glenn's orbital mission in Friendship 7 in February 1962.

Question by player stashamaria