Welcome to another Friday quiz, and, like an ideal conference, this week’s offering starts off with highbrow questions about scientific discovery and philosophy before descending into puerile jokes and puzzles by the time we get to the end.

Round 1 – A to Z

We’ll warm up this week with some more science A to Z, and we’re now up to letters M – O.

1. What M is the two-word term, first coined by Julian Huxley in the title of a 1942 book, used to describe the union of Darwinian natural selection, Mendelian genetics, and other related ideas  to form a cohesive account of evolution?
2. What N is the type of astronomical entity that results from the gravitational collapse of a massive star during certain types of supernova event?
3. What O is the SI unit of electrical resistance?

Round 2 – Philosophy of science

Richard Feynman claimed that “philosophy of science is about as useful to scientists as ornithology is to birds”. He meant, of course, that it’s not at all useful. But it’s at least arguable that ornithology is in fact very useful to birds – so you can probably use that quote regardless of which side of the argument you are on. Anyway, here are three questions about the philosophy of science.

1. Who was the English philosopher and scientist, born 1561, who first devised what became known as the scientific method, and whose philosophy of science was one of the key inspirations in the foundation of the Royal Society?
2. Which Austrian 20^th century philosopher of science claimed (roughly speaking) that for a theory to be scientific it must be falsifiable?
3. What is the name of the 20^th century American philosopher of science who wrote the hugely influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, in so doing introducing the phrase “paradigm shift” into the English language?

Round 3 – The Picture Round

In this week’s picture round, you’ll see three things that are either named after or share a name with a member of the animal kingdom. You just have to name them.

1. What is the name of this ship, most famous for its second 19th century voyage?

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. What sort of animal is this constellation named after?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Who is this 19th century British scientist with a zoological surname, most famous for inventing an incandescent light bulb before it was independently invented by Thomas Edison?

 

 

 

 

 

Round 4 – Science humour

This round proves that, while scientists may have the sorts of brains that can work out the origins of the universe or the structure of an atom, their jokes are no better than anyone else’s. Fill in the punchlines to these staples of geeky humour:

1. A neutron walks into a bar and says to the barman “how much for a pint of beer?” The barman replies…what?
2. Why don’t chemists like jokes involving cobalt, radon and yttrium?
3. A Higgs boson walks into a church and the priest says “sorry, we don’t allow your sort in here.” The Higgs boson replies…what?

 Round 5 – Scrambled scientists

It’s the return of the scrambled scientists round – in each question, the names of two famous scientists have been mixed together, with all the letters remaining in the correct order but with the spacing removed. Can you work out the pair of scientists in each case?

1. ajntoosienelpahvporiiesstileyer

2. rwoislalliianmdhferrasnckhleiln

3. jjoosnepshljoauicsogbabyleurszesliaucs

That’s all for this week – answers will be revealed on Monday. In the mean time, feel free to share your favourite science jokes in the comments section below.