MS Sample Set 13, Round 4 from NSB

Questions in Packet

TOSS-UP ess phrase

Discovered in the early 1600s, the four Galilean moons orbit what planet?

Acceptable Answers:

  • JUPITER

BONUS ess multiple_choice

Which of the following types of stars is expected to last for the longest time in its current stage of stellar evolution? W) Red giant X) Blue supergiant Y) Yellow dwarf Z) Red dwarf

W: W) Red giant

X: X) Blue supergiant

Y: Y) Yellow dwarf

Z: Z) Red dwarf

Answer: Z) Z) Red dwarf

TOSS-UP bio multiple_choice

In humans, olfactory receptors are primarily located in which of the following locations? W) Mouth X) Lungs Y) Nose Z) Ears

W: W) Mouth

X: X) Lungs

Y: Y) Nose

Z: Z) Ears

Answer: Y) Y) Nose

BONUS bio phrase

What is the term for the process by which bacteria divide into two cells?

Acceptable Answers:

  • BINARY FISSION

TOSS-UP phys phrase

What is the chemical symbol for the element chlorine?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Cl

BONUS phys multiselect

Identify all of the following four quantities that are conserved during the electrolysis of water:

Choices:

  • Moles of reagents
  • Mass
  • Energy
  • Entropy

Correct Answers:

  • 2
  • 3

TOSS-UP energy phrase

Scientists at SLAC National Accelerator Lab used energetic X-rays to punch electrons out of water molecules. The water goes through a phase transition from liquid to an electrically charged gas, also known as what?

Acceptable Answers:

  • PLASMA

BONUS energy phrase

Geochemists at Pacific Northwest National Lab are studying the mixing between groundwater and river water. This phenomenon can only occur when what specific level, the upper surface of the zone of saturation, is at the surface of a river bed?

Acceptable Answers:

  • WATER TABLE

TOSS-UP math phrase

What is the greatest integer less than or equal to $$\lfloor \log_5(1234)\rfloor$$?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 4

BONUS math phrase

Solve the following equation for \(x\): $$x^2 + 6x - 216 = 0$$.

Acceptable Answers:

  • -18; 12

TOSS-UP ess phrase

Chalcopyrite is the primary ore of what element commonly used to produce wire?

Acceptable Answers:

  • COPPER

BONUS ess multiselect

Identify all of the following three rock types that typically contain clay minerals:

Choices:

  • Igneous
  • Metamorphic
  • Sedimentary

Correct Answers:

  • 3

TOSS-UP bio phrase

What hormone is secreted by the beta cells of the pancreas in response to increased levels of blood sugar?

Acceptable Answers:

  • INSULIN

BONUS bio phrase

In a plant’s root tip, what type of cell division would one expect to be nearly constantly occurring?

Acceptable Answers:

  • MITOSIS

TOSS-UP energy phrase

Scientists at Argonne National Lab are building 3D structures of proteins associated with infectious diseases. What technique do they use with the Advanced Photon Source to determine these crystal structures?

Acceptable Answers:

  • X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHY

BONUS energy phrase

Scientists at Brookhaven National Lab are studying the structure of the replisome within the cell’s nucleus. The replisome forms in order to synthesize what molecule?

Acceptable Answers:

  • DNA

TOSS-UP ess phrase

What is the name for the spherical region around a black hole past which no information can be transmitted to an outside observer?

Acceptable Answers:

  • EVENT HORIZON
  • SCHWARZSCHILD RADIUS

BONUS ess multiple_choice

In which of the following parts of the Milky Way is the solar system located? W) Core X) Spiral arm Y) Between spiral arms Z) Galactic halo

W: W) Core

X: X) Spiral arm

Y: Y) Between spiral arms

Z: Z) Galactic halo

Answer: X) X) Spiral arm

TOSS-UP phys phrase

What is the term for an object’s tendency to resist changes in its motion?

Acceptable Answers:

  • INERTIA

BONUS phys multiple_choice

A recipe calls for 5 cups of flour. A baker measures and adds a quantity of flour to a mixing bowl 5 times. Afterward, the quantity of flour in the bowl is measured and determined to be 5 cups. If the same thing happens on repeated attempts to make the recipe, which of the following is a correct description of the baker’s measurements? W) Neither accurate nor precise X) Accurate, but not precise Y) Precise, but not accurate Z) Both accurate and precise

W: W) Neither accurate nor precise

X: X) Accurate, but not precise

Y: Y) Precise, but not accurate

Z: Z) Both accurate and precise

Answer: Z) Z) Both accurate and precise

TOSS-UP math phrase

Simplify the following expression: $$10 - 2 \times 3$$

Acceptable Answers:

  • 4

BONUS math phrase

Mary decorates cookies at a rate of 20 per hour and John decorates them at a rate of 15 per hour. If John has a two-hour head start and they both then work continuously, after how many hours from the time she starts will Mary have decorated the same number of cookies as John?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 6

TOSS-UP energy phrase

Scientists at Fermi National Accelerator Lab have been developing a next-generation lens to replace octupole magnets that are used to focus proton beams in particle accelerators. These magnets are a circular arrangement of how many magnets?

Acceptable Answers:

  • EIGHT

BONUS energy phrase

Scientists at Idaho National Lab have developed a new method to refine biodiesel. The solvent in this method is composed of a high-pressure phase of what molecule in which carbon is in its +4 oxidation state?

Acceptable Answers:

  • CARBON DIOXIDE
  • CO$_2$

TOSS-UP phys phrase

Given that the chemical formula of glucose is C$_6$H$_{12}$O$_6$, what is its empirical formula?

Acceptable Answers:

  • CH$_2$O

BONUS phys phrase

At STP, how much volume, in liters, does 4 moles of an ideal gas occupy?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 89.6

TOSS-UP bio phrase

A certain cell’s primary responsibility is to produce a hormone for the rest of the body. To what organ system does this cell most likely belong?

Acceptable Answers:

  • ENDOCRINE

BONUS bio phrase

What type of ecological succession typically happens after a forest fire?

Acceptable Answers:

  • SECONDARY SUCCESSION

TOSS-UP ess phrase

The Modified Mercalli scale is used to measure the intensity of what?

Acceptable Answers:

  • EARTHQUAKES

BONUS ess phrase

How many high tides and how many low tides occur at a location with a semidiurnal tidal pattern each lunar day?

Acceptable Answers:

  • TWO HIGH TIDES AND TWO LOW TIDES

TOSS-UP math phrase

Julie brings 24 candy bars to class and divides them so that each of her classmates receives an equal share of $$\tfrac{3}{4}$$ of a bar. How many classmates does Julie have?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 32

BONUS math phrase

What is the least common multiple of 14, 15, and 18?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 630

TOSS-UP phys multiple_choice

Your friend rubs a balloon on your head and your hair sticks to the balloon due to static electricity. This occurs because which of the following particles has been exchanged between your hair and the balloon? W) Electrons X) Protons Y) Neutrons Z) Quarks

W: W) Electrons

X: X) Protons

Y: Y) Neutrons

Z: Z) Quarks

Answer: W) W) Electrons

BONUS phys phrase

A particle is moving with a horizontal velocity of 12 meters per second and a vertical velocity of \(-5\) meters per second. In meters per second, what is its speed?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 13

TOSS-UP bio phrase

A small subset of a population of organisms might migrate to another location, resulting in their descendants having different allele frequencies than the larger population from which the migrants came. What is the term for this effect?

Acceptable Answers:

  • FOUNDER EFFECT

BONUS bio phrase

You measure someone’s pulse for 10 seconds and feel 15 beats. What is the person’s heart rate as measured in beats per minute?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 90

TOSS-UP math phrase

A triangle has two angles measuring 32° and 77°, respectively. What is the degree measure of the third angle?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 71

BONUS math phrase

Your electric car has a range of 310 miles on a full battery. If you start driving with 18% of your battery drained, to the nearest mile, how far can you drive before the battery dies?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 254

TOSS-UP phys phrase

For a standing wave, what is the term for points of maximum displacement?

Acceptable Answers:

  • ANTINODES

BONUS phys phrase

To two significant figures and in amperes, how much current will a 100-watt light bulb draw from a 120-volt power supply?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 0.83

TOSS-UP ess phrase

What theory is the most accepted scientific viewpoint regarding the origin of the universe from an infinitely dense and hot point?

Acceptable Answers:

  • BIG BANG

BONUS ess phrase

While observing a total solar eclipse, in what part of the eclipse shadow do you observe this event?

Acceptable Answers:

  • UMBRA

TOSS-UP bio phrase

What type of fossil, due to its wide geographic distribution and short period of existence, is used by scientists to compare the relative age of other fossils?

Acceptable Answers:

  • INDEX FOSSIL

BONUS bio phrase

What group of pathogens possesses nucleic acids but not ribosomes?

Acceptable Answers:

  • VIRUSES

TOSS-UP math phrase

What is the multiplicative inverse of $$-\tfrac{11}{5}$$?

Acceptable Answers:

  • -5/11

BONUS math phrase

From the Earth, you measure a change in the Moon’s position of 18° over two hours. Assuming the Moon is 380,000 kilometers away from the Earth, and rounding your answer to the nearest ten thousand, how many kilometers does it seem that the Moon has moved during your observation?

Acceptable Answers:

  • 120,000