Time and Distance Measurements Trivia

1. The British Thermal Unit (BTU) measures heat. Which SI unit would also measure heat (along with energy)?

From Quiz How Fast, How Strong, How High

Answer: Joule

The BTU measures the amount of heat or energy needed to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. One of the definitions of the joule is the heat needed to raise one gram of water 0.24 degrees Celsius. The conversion rate between the two is approximately 1055 joules to one BTU. The joule is named for James Prescott Joule, an English physicist who studied the nature and characteristics of heat.

From Quiz The Space Between

Answer: Measurement

The word metrology comes from the Ancient Greek words metron, or measure, and logos (study of), combined to make the science of measurement. The concept of metrology applies not only to distance or length, but also to justice, public safety, health and anything with a measurable standard. Meteorology is the science of weather, while petrology is the study of rocks.

From Quiz American Measurement System

Answer: millimeter

A furlong is one eighth of a mile in the American customary units, which are equal to the American System or what used to be called the English system. The British system is similar,but not equivalent to the British Imperial system of units. Unlike the metric or SI systems, there is no standard unit.

From Quiz The Julian Period

Answer: January and February

It was the second Roman King (Numa Pompilius, 715 to 673BC) who established the months of February and January between the months of December and March - (interestingly) in that order. This increased the number of days in the year to 354 or 355 days. In 450BC February was promoted to its current position on the calender.

From Quiz Weights and Measures

Answer: Mass

The kp (kilopond) measures force and the m/s^2 (meter per second squared) measures acceleration. Therefore, you have force*acceleration^(-1), which is, of course, mass.

From Quiz British Measurements

Answer: 4

It's the approximate width of the human hand (including the thumb). So a horse that stands 5ft 4in tall at the shoulders is said to measure 16 hands. A pony is a horse of 14.2 hands (4ft 10in) or less.

From Quiz A Timely Quiz

Answer: Egyptian

Around 2100 BC, the ancient Egyptians divided the day into 24 hours: one hour for dawn, one for dusk, 10 for day, and 12 for night. They were also probably the first to establish that the sun took 365 days to make a complete passage.

From Quiz Scientific Scales

Answer: German

Friedrich Mohs was a German mineralogist who desired to have a measure of the level of resistance to scratching of the various minerals he studied. His choice of minerals for each level (1-10) is somewhat arbitrary, and is certainly not linear.

From Quiz Metric and Imperial Measurements

Answer: 2.5

Any old plastic ruler should tell you this!

From Quiz Which Way Is Up

Answer: South

No trick question here.

From Quiz Eras and Periods

Answer: Pre-Cambrian

During this long period of the Earth's history the first bacteria and algae appeared.

From Quiz Calendars, Time and Distance

Answer: 709 a.u.c.

The early Romans numbered their years in ab urbe condita (a.u.c.) meaning 'The Founding of the City (Rome)'. 709 a.u.b. would be 46 B.C. if converted to the modern calendar

From Quiz Scientific Measurement Units

Answer: Acceleration

From Quiz The Fahrenheit Scale

Answer: 212 F

But of course the higher you go and thus the lower the atmospheric pressure, the lower the temperature has to be.

From Quiz How Fast, How Strong, How High

Answer: Pound-force

A newton is a measurement of force. One newton would accelerate one kilogram of matter at the rate of one meter per second squared. Gravity on earth would exert about 9.8 newtons on a kilogram of matter. The pound-force measures the gravitational pull at the earth's surface of a one pound mass. A pound-force is equal to slightly less than 4.5 newtons. The Newton was named for English scientist Isaac Newton who, among many other things, studied gravity.

From Quiz Uncommon Units of Time and Distance

Answer: gigameters

A gigameter is a billion meters or, more commonly, a million kilometers. A gigameter is a rarely used measurement even to denote planet distances from the Sun, which are commonly quoted in astronomical units, kilometers and miles. The Earth is located one astronomical unit, 150 million kilometers or 93 million miles from the Sun using those common units. We would freeze if Earth were located 150 astronomical units away from the Sun, while we would vaporize if it was either 150 kilometers or 150 miles from the Sun.

From Quiz Down With the Metric System!

Answer: 5 PM

One hour after sunrise was reckoned as the "first hour," and the subsequent hours were counted from there, so the eleventh hour would be the fifth hour of the afternoon. Most modern translations of the Bible just say "five in the afternoon."

From Quiz The Space Between

Answer: 75 (3)

The Ancient Egyptians had a sophisticated system of measurements, as clearly evidenced by the pyramids. For linear measures, they used a notched rod, similar to a modern ruler, for uniform standards. One large measure of capacity was a khar (sack) equivalent to 75.2 litres.

From Quiz Ten Thousand Nanomegaquestions

Answer: Exa-

Derived from "hexa", meaning "six", this prefix was until 1991 the largest SI prefix. It is occasionally heard in conjunction with the unit Watt as some researchers are working on lasers capable of delivering such an amount of power - one million times the output of the entire US power grid or six times the amount of radiation Earth receives from the Sun - for a very short pulse (less than one trillionth of a second). By the way, "Tera-" is derived from "tetra" (four) and "Peta-" has its roots in "penta" (five).

From Quiz Cookin' Up Measurements in the USA

Answer: 24 tablespoons would equal eight eggs

One beaten egg is equal to three tablespoons. If Paula needed eight large eggs for her French Toast Casserole and she were using tablespoons, she would have twenty four tablespoons of beaten eggs. 1 egg = 3 tablespoons 8 eggs * 3 tablespoons = 24 tablespoons

From Quiz Measurement All Around You

Answer: temperature of the warming plate

In addition, the coffee maker has one or two thermal fuses. The current to run the heating element goes through these fuses. In cases of severe overheating (usually due to failure of the thermostat) one or both of the fuses melt, thus interrupting the flow of the current. If your coffee maker worked fine yesterday and now won't heat at all, one of these fuses has probably failed. Warming plates can cause the coffee to become bitter, so top of the range coffee makers are likely to have a form of vacuum flask to store the coffee.

From Quiz American Measurement System

Answer: cubic feet

The avoirdupois ounce is a measure of mass. Volume measures capacity, which is a three-dimensional unit. Square feet is a measure of area and feet is a measure of length.

From Quiz A Long History in Measuring Time

Answer: water

Literally, clepsydra in Greek means "water stealer". They are older even than hourglasses, as they are mentioned in ancient Chinese scrolls dating back to 4000 BC. They were widespread in use, and were considered very accurate and versatile time measuring devices. Modern clepsydras are not found in abundance as technology has advanced. Nevertheless, they are a novelty, and often utilize several technologies rolled into one design. A great example of this is the Hornsby Water Clock in a mall in Hornsby, Australia, which uses the principles of a clepsydra, a water-wheel clock, and a pendulum clock in one artistic design.

From Quiz Some Really, Really, Really Big Numbers

Answer: The number of carbon atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12

A mole is the SI unit for amount of a substance, and Avogadro's number is a measure of how many atoms are needed to make a gram of a substance. Therefore, Avogadro's constant is one of the most important numbers in chemistry and in science. Chemists in North America even celebrate Mole Day on October 23(10/23)!

From Quiz The Julian Period

Answer: Sosigenes of Alexandria

Very little is known of Sosigenes. He was known as 'Pliny the Elder' and was noted as an astronomer when consulted by Caesar. There are sources that indicate that the format of the calendar was designed by Aristarchus of Samos, a Greek mathematician and astronomer, some 200 years prior. Ptolemy III was also cited to have proposed similar reform in 238BC but it was never adopted. Aristaeus was a Greek mathematician who was a contemporary of Euclid. Bryson, also Greek, contributed toward the calculation of pi, and Hippocrates attempted to explain the phenomena of comets and the Milky Way.

From Quiz Too Close For Comfort

Answer: odometer

The odometer measures the distance the car has driven by measuring the magnetic field the rear transmission creates while spinning. In layman's terms, the faster the car goes, the more distance you travel and the stronger the magnetic field. Therefore, the odometer will spin faster indicating that your car has gone a farther distance. This phenomenon will ultimately decrease the value of the car. Economics, it's a science stronger than Physics.

From Quiz Weights and Measures

Answer: 10^(-9)

10^(-12) is pico, 10^9 is giga and 10^(-15) is femto.

From Quiz British Measurements

Answer: 220

From the Old English words for "furrow" and "long": it is historically the length of a furrow. It survives mainly in horse-racing.

From Quiz A Timely Quiz

Answer: Julian

By 46 BC, Julius Caesar had abolished the old Roman calendar, which had drifted too far from the natural seasons. He decided upon a new length of 365 days, six hours, with 67 days added to the current year to bring the months back into order with nature.

From Quiz Scientific Scales

Answer: Søren Sørensen

In 1909 Sørensen developed his scale, which measures the acidity of a solution. At a pH of 7, the acidity is considered neutral. High numbers like 12 and 13 represent a high level of alkalinity, while lower numbers like 2 or 3 represent a high level of acidity.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:48 AM

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