Science & Technology (#1)

Question 1

Which member of the solar system, now considered a dwarf planet, was first discovered in 1930?

Answer 1

Pluto

Question 2

What was the most widely used rifle in the US Civil War?

Answer 2

Springfield Model 1861

Question 3

Which gel-like incendiary material, an ingredient in bombs and flamethrowers, was used extensively during the Vietnam War?

Answer 3

Napalm

Question 4

In minutes, approximately how long can cockroaches survive underwater?

Answer 4

30 minutes

Question 5

In what decade did the automated teller machine (ATM) make its public debut in the United States?

Answer 5

The 1960s (1969)

Question 6

Who invented the first bifocal eyeglasses?

Answer 6

Ben Franklin

Question 7

What is the heaviest element on the periodic table?

Answer 7

Oganesson

Question 8

What was the first computer video game demonstrated in 1962?

Answer 8

Spacewar

Question 9

What is the shortest day of the year called?

Answer 9

Winter solstice

Question 10

“Life’s Good” is the slogan of which tech company?

Answer 10

LG

Question 11

What is the fear of snow called?

Answer 11

Chionophobia

Question 12

What is the mathematical concept found in nature and used in art to provide the most aesthetically pleasing proportions?

Answer 12

Golden Ratio

Question 13

What is the state called where the materials exist as a gas, a liquid, and a solid simultaneously?

Answer 13

Triple Boil or Triple Point

Question 14

Marie Van Brittan Brown invented what technology?

Answer 14

The home security system

Question 15

What is the chemical symbol for gold?

Answer 15

Au

Question 16

NaCI is the chemical formula for which common condiment?

Answer 16

Salt (sodium chloride)

Question 17

Which Russian chemist formed the periodic table?

Answer 17

Dmitri Mendeleev

Question 18

What is the term used for when a material goes from solid to gas without becoming a liquid?

Answer 18

Sublimation

Question 19

After the Sun, what is the closest star to the Earth?

Answer 19

Proxima Centauri

Question 20

What is the most common element in Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer 20

Nitrogen

Question 21

What was the name of the IBM supercomputer that defeated world class chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997?

Answer 21

Deep Blue

Question 22

What part of a cell is responsible for controlling activity inside the cell?

Answer 22

Nucleus

Question 23

According to the Mpemba effect, which freezes faster, hot or cold water?

Answer 23

Hot

Question 24

What popular fruit is considered radioactive?

Answer 24

Banana

Question 25

Who was the first woman to graduate from medical school in the US?

Answer 25

Elizabeth Blackwell, MD

Question 26

Who was the first female astronaut?

Answer 26

Valentina Tereshkova

Question 27

How many phases does the moon have?

Answer 27

Eight

Question 28

What is the day called where the Sun's direct rays cross the celestial equator?

Answer 28

The equinox

Question 29

What year was the James Webb Space Telescope launched?

Answer 29

2021 (December 25th)

Question 30

Who was the first person to orbit Earth?

Answer 30

Yuri Gagarin

Question 31

Which American physician advocated bloodletting cures during the yellow fever epidemic of the 1790s?

Answer 31

Benjamin Rush

Question 32

Which country has continued to hunt whales despite a IWC moratorium on whaling that went into effect in 1986?

Answer 32

Japan

Question 33

How many zeros are in the number googol?

Answer 33

100

Question 34

What is the study of mushrooms called?

Answer 34

Mycology

Question 35

What year did the Space Shuttle Challenger explode?

Answer 35

1986 (January 28)

Question 36

Who is credited with being the first person to discover DnA?

Answer 36

Friedrich Miescher

Question 37

What plant was used to make paper in ancient Egypt?

Answer 37

Papyrus

Question 38

What oath of ethics taken by doctors is named after an ancient Greek physician?

Answer 38

The Hippocratic Oath

Question 39

What instrument did King Camp Gillette invent?

Answer 39

Safety Razor

Question 40

What is the length of an elephant's gestation period?

Answer 40

18-22 months

Question 41

Which structure, completed in 1914, was a catalyst for American foreign intervention in Latin America?

Answer 41

Panama Canal

Question 42

Name two of the three diseases that leaders of the G-8 countries pledged $80 billion to the fight in 2007?

Answer 42

AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria

Question 43

Belted Galloway and Belgian Blue are breeds of what animal?

Answer 43

Cow

Question 44

With which technology is Western Union most associated?

Answer 44

Telegraph, money transfers

Question 45

Where are a cricket's ears located?

Answer 45

On its front legs

Question 46

How do seahorses stay with their mate while floating?

Answer 46

By holding each other's tails

Question 47

What was the Enigma code?

Answer 47

The code used by the Germans during WWII

Question 48

What 1929 event led to the opening of the first independent scientific crime detection lab in the United States

Answer 48

The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre

Question 49

Which simple invention, created by Joseph Glidden in 1874, forever changed the Great Plains way of life?

Answer 49

Barbed wire

Question 50

Along with Isaac Newton, which mathematician is credited with independently developing calculus?

Answer 50

Gottfried Leibniz

Question 51

What is the branch of forensics devoted to gathering evidence from computers and electronic devices?

Answer 51

Digital forensics

Question 52

What animal is the only vertebrae that can regenerate its body parts?

Answer 52

Axototl

Question 53

What is Johannes Gutenberg known for inventing?

Answer 53

Movable-type printing

Question 54

What does Tyrannosaurus rex mean in Latin?

Answer 54

Tyrant Lizard King

Question 55

What is the opposite of matter?

Answer 55

Antimatter

Question 56

What did the pseudoscience of phrenology study?

Answer 56

Skull shape as it reveals mental function

Question 57

What is the female donkey called?

Answer 57

Jenny

Question 58

What animal produces mohair?

Answer 58

Angora goat

Question 59

What disease afflicted the city of Philadelphia in the 1790s?

Answer 59

Yellow fever

Question 60

As of 2022, how many humans have walked on the moon?

Answer 60

12

Question 61

Which large mammal has a tail so strong it can stand on it and lift its hind legs off the ground?

Answer 61

Kangaroo

Question 62

What mammal has the most powerful bite?

Answer 62

Hippopotamus

Question 63

Which fish has seen its numbers drop by 85% due to overfishing caused by the demand for sushi?

Answer 63

Atlantic bluefin tuna

Question 64

After 1200 BC, what forged metal began widely replacing bronze in tools and weapons?

Answer 64

Iron

Question 65

Franke Whittle is best known for developing which invention in 1930?

Answer 65

Turbojet engine

Question 66

What kind of animal can only eat upside down?

Answer 66

Flamingo

Question 67

Which weapon, a more powerful version of the atomic bomb, was first tested by the United States in 1952?

Answer 67

Hydrogen bomb

Question 68

Which chemical element is represented by "K"?

Answer 68

Potassium

Question 69

How many teats does a cow normally have?

Answer 69

Four

Question 70

Which musical recording and playback medium was introduced in 1963?

Answer 70

Audio cassette

Question 71

What is the closest living relative to the T-rex?

Answer 71

Chicken, ostrich

Question 72

Who invented the ballpoint pen?

Answer 72

Lászió Biró