HS Sample Set 11, Round 17 from NSB

Questions in Packet

TOSS-UP bio multiple_choice

The majority of speciation [spee-see-AY-shun] occurs under which of the following circumstances? W) When populations undergo sexual selection X) When populations become geographically separated Y) When populations are R selected Z) When populations reach carrying capacity

W: W) When populations undergo sexual selection

X: X) When populations become geographically separated

Y: Y) When populations are R selected

Z: Z) When populations reach carrying capacity

Answer: X) X) When populations become geographically separated

BONUS bio multiselect

A bacterial colony is raised in heavy nitrogen media for several generations, then transferred to a nitrogen-14 medium. Identify all of the following statements that will be true after one generation: 1) Half of the bacteria will have denser DNA than the other half; 2) Half of the bacteria will have no heavy nitrogen in their DNA; 3) Half of the bacteria will have no nitrogen-14 in their DNA.

Choices:

  • Half of the bacteria will have denser DNA than the other half
  • Half of the bacteria will have no heavy nitrogen in their DNA
  • Half of the bacteria will have no nitrogen-14 in their DNA

Correct Answers:

  • 0

TOSS-UP chem multiple_choice

Which of the following molecular geometries can exhibit meridional isomerism? W) Linear X) Square planar Y) Tetrahedral Z) Octahedral

W: W) Linear

X: X) Square planar

Y: Y) Tetrahedral

Z: Z) Octahedral

Answer: Z) Z) Octahedral

BONUS chem phrase

What is the fewest number of carbonyl stretching bands that can be seen in the infrared spectrum of a metal atom that is bound to four CO ligands?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 1

TOSS-UP ess multiple_choice

Comet McNaught visited in 2007 but is now on a path to leave the solar system forever. Which of the following best describes its orbit? W) Circular X) Elliptical Y) Parabolic Z) Hyperbolic

W: W) Circular

X: X) Elliptical

Y: Y) Parabolic

Z: Z) Hyperbolic

Answer: Z) Z) Hyperbolic

BONUS ess phrase

21-centimeter radiation is observed throughout much of space because it is generated from the neutral form of what element?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Hydrogen

TOSS-UP math phrase

Consider a triangle with two sides with lengths of 4 and 9. How many different integers could be the length of the third side?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 7

BONUS math phrase

What is the limit as $$x \to 0$$ of $$\frac{x - 1 + e^{3x}}{\sin x}$$?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 4

TOSS-UP energy multiple_choice

The energy price spikes in the 1970s and in 2008 suggested which of the following about U.S. energy usage? W) Usage rises in response to rising prices X) Usage stays the same when prices rise Y) Usage drops in response to rising prices Z) There was no consistent trend about U.S. energy usage

W: W) Usage rises in response to rising prices

X: X) Usage stays the same when prices rise

Y: Y) Usage drops in response to rising prices

Z: Z) There was no consistent trend about U.S. energy usage

Answer: Y) Y) Usage drops in response to rising prices

BONUS energy phrase

What country is the source of the largest percentage of petroleum imported to the US?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Canada

TOSS-UP phys phrase

What is the name of the low-temperature state characterized by zero resistance transport of electron pairs?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Superconductivity

BONUS phys order

Most ships are more stable in a capsized rather than upright state. Order the following points from bottom-most to top-most for an upright, metastable ship: 1) Center of gravity; 2) Center of buoyancy; 3) Metacenter.

Choices:

  • Center of gravity
  • Center of buoyancy
  • Metacenter

Correct Order:

  • 2
  • 1
  • 3

TOSS-UP bio phrase

Methylation of cytosine was once thought to play an important role in repressing gene regulation. Deamination of 5-methylcytosine results in the production of what other nucleobase?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Thymine

BONUS bio multiselect

Identify all of the following three disorders that are usually inherited dominantly: 1) Huntington’s disease; 2) Albinism; 3) Polydactyly.

Choices:

  • Huntington’s disease
  • Albinism
  • Polydactyly

Correct Answers:

  • 1
  • 3

TOSS-UP chem multiselect

Identify all of the following three fatty acids that are unsaturated: 1) C₁₃H₂₇COOH; 2) C₁₇H₃₅COOH; 3) C₁₆H₂₉COOH.

Choices:

  • C₁₃H₂₇COOH
  • C₁₇H₃₅COOH
  • C₁₆H₂₉COOH

Correct Answers:

  • 3

BONUS chem phrase

What reaction in organic chemistry forms alkenes via a reaction of a carbonyl group with a yellow-colored phosphorus ylide?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Wittig reaction

TOSS-UP ess phrase

Scientists can study solar fusion via observations of certain near-massless particles that travel through the Sun. What are these particles?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Neutrinos

BONUS ess multiple_choice

Which of the following is the best approximation of how much time a supergiant star can survive by way of silicon fusion? W) 1 day X) 1 year Y) 1 thousand years Z) 1 million years

W: W) 1 day

X: X) 1 year

Y: Y) 1 thousand years

Z: Z) 1 million years

Answer: W) W) 1 day

TOSS-UP energy phrase

In a junction transistor used as a switch, which terminal controls the current through the other two terminals?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Base

BONUS energy multiple_choice

Oil shale is a type of organic-rich sedimentary rock that can be used to produce shale oil, also known as tight oil, which is a substitute for conventional crude oil. Which of the following varieties of oil shale is NOT classified as a marine shale? W) Kukersite X) Torbanite Y) Tasminite Z) Marinite

W: W) Kukersite

X: X) Torbanite

Y: Y) Tasminite

Z: Z) Marinite

Answer: X) X) Torbanite

TOSS-UP phys phrase

How much work, in joules, is done on a particle of charge 2 coulombs as it accelerates over a distance of 1 meter in an electric field of strength 9 volts per meter?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 18

BONUS phys multiple_choice

Which of the following conservation laws is related by Noether’s theorem to translational spatial symmetry? W) Conservation of mass X) Conservation of linear momentum Y) Conservation of angular momentum Z) Conservation of electric charge

W: W) Conservation of mass

X: X) Conservation of linear momentum

Y: Y) Conservation of angular momentum

Z: Z) Conservation of electric charge

Answer: X) X) Conservation of linear momentum

TOSS-UP math phrase

Evaluate the following expression: –i³³.

Acceptable Answers:

  • –i

BONUS math phrase

A triangular right prism has each edge of length 4. What is its surface area?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 48 + 8√3

TOSS-UP energy multiple_choice

The further advancement of rechargeable batteries is currently hindered by unavoidable growth of what during battery cell recharge? W) Lithium dendrites X) Potassium salts Y) Nickel deposits Z) Lead precipitates

W: W) Lithium dendrites

X: X) Potassium salts

Y: Y) Nickel deposits

Z: Z) Lead precipitates

Answer: W) W) Lithium dendrites

BONUS energy multiple_choice

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility is using what technology to further nuclear fusion energy research? W) Magnetic plasma confinement X) Toroidal plasma confinement Y) Laser inertial confinement Z) Electromagnetic implosion

W: W) Magnetic plasma confinement

X: X) Toroidal plasma confinement

Y: Y) Laser inertial confinement

Z: Z) Electromagnetic implosion

Answer: Y) Y) Laser inertial confinement

TOSS-UP phys phrase

The precession of Mercury’s orbit about the sun presented an anomaly for the scientists that observed it. What theory correctly predicted the magnitude of precession each year?

Acceptable Answers:

  • General Relativity
  • General Theory of Relativity

BONUS phys phrase

A charged conducting sphere is connected by a long, thin conducting wire to an uncharged conducting sphere that has half the radius of the first sphere. After some time has passed, what fraction of the original charge remains on the first sphere?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 2/3

TOSS-UP ess phrase

In 1967, Jocelyn Bell detected a regularly pulsing radio signal, which she called LGM. What type of celestial object produced this signal?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Pulsar

DO NOT ACCEPT:

  • Neutron star

BONUS ess phrase

What carbonate mineral is green in color and contains copper as its main cation?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Malachite

TOSS-UP chem multiselect

Identify all of the following four compounds that are polar: 1) XeF₄; 2) SF₄; 3) BrF₅; 4) PF₅.

Choices:

  • XeF₄
  • SF₄
  • BrF₅
  • PF₅

Correct Answers:

  • 2
  • 3

BONUS chem multiple_choice

Which of the following is NOT one of the seven crystal lattice systems? W) Orthorhombic X) Monoclinic Y) Octagonal Z) Cubic

W: W) Orthorhombic

X: X) Monoclinic

Y: Y) Octagonal

Z: Z) Cubic

Answer: Y) Y) Octagonal

TOSS-UP bio phrase

In E. coli, a certain gene undergoes a mutation such that the resulting protein is much larger in size and now non-functional. What type of mutation likely occurred?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Insertion

BONUS bio phrase

A scientist crosses a pea plant that is true breeding for the dominant traits of round and yellow seeds with a plant that is true breeding for wrinkled, green seeds. What fraction of the offspring will have round, green seeds?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 0

TOSS-UP math phrase

A set of test scores is normally distributed with mean 72 and standard deviation 6. What score corresponds to a Z-score of –1.5?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 63

BONUS math phrase

A 5-digit palindrome has 3 different digits and is divisible by 18. What is its largest possible value?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 89,298

TOSS-UP ess phrase

Unlike reflectors, refracting telescopes may require an additional lens to correct for what optical disturbance?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Chromatic aberration

BONUS ess phrase

The addition of what metal to the Earth’s oceans has been proposed as a potential way to decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide through the stimulation of photosynthetic bacteria?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Iron

TOSS-UP chem phrase

Within a valence bond interpretation, what is the hybridization of the carbon atoms’ valence electrons in the ethylene molecule?

Acceptable Answers:

  • sp²

BONUS chem multiple_choice

Which of the following elements has an electron configuration that follows the simple order of orbital filling? W) Technetium X) Ruthenium Y) Rhodium Z) Palladium

W: W) Technetium

X: X) Ruthenium

Y: Y) Rhodium

Z: Z) Palladium

Answer: W) W) Technetium

TOSS-UP phys phrase

What quark was most recently discovered?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Top quark

BONUS phys multiselect

If an electron is moving in the positive-x direction with increasing speed, identify all of the following scenarios that could be responsible for the driving force: 1) A magnetic field pointing in the negative-x direction; 2) An electric field pointing in the negative-x direction; 3) A magnetic field pointing in the negative-z direction.

Choices:

  • A magnetic field pointing in the negative-x direction
  • An electric field pointing in the negative-x direction
  • A magnetic field pointing in the negative-z direction

Correct Answers:

  • 2

TOSS-UP math phrase

What base-10 numeral does the following Roman numeral represent: CMXLVI?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 946

BONUS math phrase

What is the following cross product of vectors: \(5\mathbf{i} - 3\mathbf{j} + \mathbf{k}\) cross \(4\mathbf{j}\)?

Acceptable Answers:

  • –4i + 20k

TOSS-UP bio phrase

What is the term for mobile elements of DNA that can cut and paste themselves into new locations?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Transposons

BONUS bio multiselect

Identify all of the following three statements that are true regarding plant hormones: 1) Auxin plays an important role in gravitropism; 2) Abscisic acid inhibits primary and secondary growth; 3) Cytokinin increases rate of leaf senescence.

Choices:

  • Auxin plays an important role in gravitropism
  • Abscisic acid inhibits primary and secondary growth
  • Cytokinin increases rate of leaf senescence

Correct Answers:

  • 1
  • 2