As the snow falls around London, it’s time for the winter warmer that is the Friday quiz. Anagrams, charades and, of course, the usual trivia questions all lie in store today.
Round 1 – Scientific Laws
You know you’ve made it in the world of science when you get to have a law named after you.
- Whose law states that the absolute pressure of a gas is inversely proprtional to its volume, assuming its temperature remains constant within a closed system?
- The ‘Law of Segregation’ and the ‘Law of Independent Assortment’ are the two laws of which scientist?
- Which German physicist devised his eponymous law in a 1926 paper, eventually leading to his winning of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1954 (having been nominated many years earlier by Einstein)?
Round 2 – Space
Hopefully, this round all about space won’t make you scream – but if you do then noone will hear you.
- In cosmology, what phenomenon, present throughout the observable universe, is abbreviated to CMBR?
- What hypothetical substance was first postulated in 1932 by Jan Ooort, and then by Fritz Zwicky in 1933, in order to account for otherwise anomalous observations of the orbital velocities of various astronomical objects?
- Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun, along with 20 of the next 30 closest, are all what type of star?
Round 3 – The Picture Round
More charades in this week’s picture round, each linked by a theme. Work out what each charade is depicting and thereby work out the theme:
1.
{credit}ric_man / PD / Tabercil{/credit}
2.
{credit}Arpingstone / PD / MarkusHagenlocher{/credit}
3.
{credit}Tristanb / Bill Ebbesen / PD{/credit}
Round 4 – Art
Great science has often inspired great art. In fact, if there are any curators out there, it would be a great idea for an exhibition.
- Which surrealist artist painted Galacidalacidesoxyribonucleicacid as a tribute to James Watson and Francis Crick?
- Which artist and writer, these days best remembered for his comic verse, was in his day an eminent and sought after natural history illustrator, his greatest scientific contribution being a collection of widely admired illustrations of the world’s parrot species?
- The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is a painting by which Dutch artist?
Round 5 – Anagrams
Five anagrams of UN Natural World Heritage Sites – how many can you unscramble?
- R-REFRIGERATE BEAR?
- I, A PAGAN, SOLD GLASS
- THIS TOE MODEL
- MAE GUNK – A MONSTROSITY
- BLAND TEA DUE
That’s all for this week – answers as always will be revealed on Monday.
How did you get on? Time to find out:
Round 1 – Scientific Laws
1. This is Boyle’s Law
2. These are the laws of genetics first formulated by Gregor Mendel.
3. This is Max Born, whose eponymous law (or rule) is related to probabilities in quantum systems.
Round 2 – Space
1. Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation is a bit of a mouthful, and thus often abbreviated to CMBR.
2. You have surely heard of dark matter, but were you successful in connecting it to the question?
3. Proxima Centauri, and several other nearby stars, are red dwarfs.
Round 3 – The Picture Round
1. CAP + PILL + LARRY [HAGMAN] = CAPILLARY
2. INN + TEST + TINES = INTESTINES
3. TRAP + PEAS + ZEUS = TRAPEZIUS
…and the link, therefore, was things found in the human body (or, indeed, in many other bodies too).
Round 4 – Art
1. The name is a portmanteau of Gala Dali, the artist’s wife, and deoxyribonucleic acid – and the artist was Salvador Dali.
2. This was Edward Lear, who originally hid his comic verse under the nom de plume Derry Down Derry, so concerned was he about his scientific achievements being undermined.
3. This is one of the most famous paintings by Rembrandt.
Round 5 – Anagrams
A rather tough set of anagrams this week. If you’ve been scratching your head, wondering what “MAE GUNK – A MONSTROSITY” resolves to then you are about to be put out of your misery.
1. GREAT BARRIER REEF
2. GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
3. THE DOLOMITES
4. GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
5. DANUBE DELTA
There’ll be more quizzing at the same this Friday!