Welcome once again to the Friday quiz. A mixed bag of trivia this week, along with the usual picture round – but first, it’s time for the news and weather…
Round 1 – News
Here are the headlines this week…
- Why have the duos of Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland, Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka, and Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka all been in the news recently?
- As detailed in a recent report in Nature, research done in Copenhagen, Denmark and Perth, Australia suggests that what important substance has a half life of approximately 521 years?
- As detailed in another recent Nature news report, German geoscientists believe they may have solved the mystery of the curious scarcity of which noble gas in the Earth’s atmosphere?
Round 2 – Weather
How’s your mastery of matters meteorological?
- What is the name of the scale, named after an Irish officer of the Royal Navy, that is used to measure wind speed?
- What weather phenomenon is described by the United States National Weather Service as “”[a] large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere””?
- The phenomenon known as ENSO is a periodic climate pattern seen in the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years, causing variations in the ocean’s surface temperature. The ‘SO’ of ENSO stands for ‘Southern Oscillation’ – but what does the ‘EN’ stand for?
Round 3 – The Picture Round
It’s another themed picture round this week – three pictures to identify, all linked by a theme.
1. What is this large sea mammal?
2. What is the name given to the random movement of particles in a fluid, as depicted here?
{credit}Lookang{/credit}
3. Who is this cognitive scientist, linguist and author?
{credit}Rebecca Goldstein{/credit}
What is the theme that links these three pictures? There’s a very general (and more obvious) theme, which is good enough – but for the film buffs among you, there is also a more specific cinematic theme (as a hint, three more pictures would have been required to complete the set).
Round 4 – A to Z
After last week’s Nobel-inspired hiatus, we continue our A to Z – this week, it’s J-L.
- Which J is the geological period that started approximately 199 million years ago and ended 145 million years ago?
- Which K is the surname of the German physician who gives his name to the set of postulates designed to establish a causal relationship between a causative microbe and a disease?
- Which L is the name of a fundamental particle, of which the electron is one type?
Round 5 – Miscellany
A mixed bag of trivia to finish things off…
- What are the only two letters not represented in any names or symbols in the periodic table?
- (a) a word that is nowadays used almost exclusively metaphorically, “vitriol” is the old name for what substance?
(b) what is the colloquial name for iron sulphide, a reference to its resemblance to a more valuable substance?
(c) historically, if a substance was described as “jovial” (eg “jovial bezoar”), which metal did it contain? - Other than the fact that they are all centres of learning and research, what links Harvard University, the Cavendish Laboratory and the Conestoga College School of Engineering and Information Technology?
Good luck, and look out for the answers on Monday.
Answers this week as follows:
Round 1 – News
1. These duos each won one of this year’s scientific Nobel prizes – in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine, respectively.
2. DNA is claimed to have a half-life of 521 years, rendering impossible any Jurassic Park-esque dreams of bringing back the dinosaurs. Read all about it.
3. Xenon is far less prevalent in our atmosphere than it ought to be. Read about possible reasons why.
Round 2 – Weather
1. The Irishman (of French Huguenot descent) who gives his name to the wind speed scale is Francis Beaufort.
2. This is how the United States National Weather Service describes an anticyclone.
3. ENSO is the El Niño Southern Oscillation.
Round 3 – The Picture Round
1. This is the largest animal of them all, the blue whale.
2. Brownian motion is the term given to this random movement of particles.
3. This is Steven Pinker, author of this year’s acclaimed The Better Angels of Our Nature.
The connection, of course, is that all the answers feature colours in their names. The more specific cinematic connection is that Mr. Blue, Mr. Brown and Mr. Pink were all codenames used in Reservoir Dogs.
Round 4 – A to Z
1. A simple start to this round – this is of course the Jurassic period.
2. Robert Koch is the German physician in question.
3. And finally in this round, an electron is a variety of lepton.
Round 5 – Miscellany
1. The only two letters currently unrepresented in the periodic table are J and Q. However, japonium is a possible future name for element 113, while ununquadium was previously the “placeholder” name for element 114, now known as flerovium.
2. (a) ‘Vitriol’ – more commonly used these days to describe a bitter or withering verbal attack – is the name previously used for sulphuric acid.
(b) Iron sulphide is also known as fool’s gold.
(c) A jovial substance wasn’t one full of bonhomie, but instead one that contained tin.
3. All these institutions are located in towns or cities called Cambridge. Cambridge, Massachusetts for Harvard, the Cavendish Laboratory is part of Cambridge University in the UK, while the rather less well known Conestoga College School of Engineering and Information Technology is in Cambridge, Ontario.
More quiz fun at the same time this Friday…