HS Sample Set 10, Round 15 from NSB
A 60-kilogram man holding a 20-kilogram box rides on a skateboard at a speed of positive 7 meters per second. He throws the box behind him, giving it a velocity of negative 5 meters per second, with respect to the ground. What is his velocity, in meters per second, after throwing the object? W) 8 X) 9 Y) 10 Z) 11
W: W) 8
X: X) 9
Y: Y) 10
Z: Z) 11
Answer: Z) Z) 11
Which of the following best describes the electromotive force produced in a circuit by a changing flux? W) Ampere’s Law X) Faraday’s Law Y) Gauss’ Law Z) Ohm’s Law
W: W) Ampere’s Law
X: X) Faraday’s Law
Y: Y) Gauss’ Law
Z: Z) Ohm’s Law
Answer: X) X) Faraday’s Law
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, commonly called ITER, has been designed to produce 500 million watts of output power and is currently scheduled to begin plasma experiments in 2020. What type of nuclear fusion method will ITER utilize, once completed? W) Magnetic confinement X) Inertial confinement Y) Magnetic pinch Z) Inertial electrostatic confinement
W: W) Magnetic confinement
X: X) Inertial confinement
Y: Y) Magnetic pinch
Z: Z) Inertial electrostatic confinement
Answer: W) W) Magnetic confinement
What unrefined chemical by-product of biodiesel production has potential uses in the manufacture of industrial chemicals and fuel additives?
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In a landlocked area with multiple playas and sparse low-lying vegetation, what type of research would best reveal how the local climate has changed over the past several thousand years? W) Palynology X) Sclerochronology Y) Dendroclimatology Z) Speleology
W: W) Palynology
X: X) Sclerochronology
Y: Y) Dendroclimatology
Z: Z) Speleology
Answer: W) W) Palynology
A fictional moon in a faraway galaxy has the same mass and atmospheric composition as the Earth, but its radius is twice as large. To one decimal place, in kelvins per kilometer, what would be the dry adiabatic lapse rate in this moon’s atmosphere?
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Identify all of the following four cellular attachments that can be found in animal cells: 1) Tight junction 2) Desmosome 3) Plasmodesmata 4) Adherens junction
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Identify all of the following three statements that are TRUE regarding E. coli: 1) Gram negative 2) Forms spores 3) Rod-shaped
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Which of the following is the contrapositive of the conditional statement “If $p$, then $q$”? W) If $q$, then $p$ X) If not $p$, then $q$ Y) If not $p$, then not $q$ Z) If not $q$, then not $p$
W: W) If $q$, then $p$
X: X) If not $p$, then $q$
Y: Y) If not $p$, then not $q$
Z: Z) If not $q$, then not $p$
Answer: Z) Z) If not $q$, then not $p$
What is the area of a triangle with sides of length 11, 8, and 5?
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What is the molecular geometry of SOCl$_2$?
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The lattice enthalpy of a solid cannot be measured directly, but it can be measured through application of Hess’s law to a series of physical and chemical changes. What is the term for this closed path of steps?
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If $\theta$ is an angle in the third quadrant and $\displaystyle \cos\theta = -\tfrac{5}{13}$, what is $\sin\theta$?
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Express the fraction with numerator $3 - 2i$ and denominator $1 + 4i$ in standard $a + bi$ form.
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What is the quantum mechanical property of electrons that causes a beam of silver atoms to split into two distinct beams as it passes through a magnetic field gradient?
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A block starts slipping on a track set at exactly 30° to the horizontal. What is the coefficient of static friction between the block and track?
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Dynein and kinesin are proteins that bind to what cytoskeletal features?
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Which of the following amino acids is encoded by a single codon? W) Leucine X) Glycine Y) Methionine Z) Phenylalanine
W: W) Leucine
X: X) Glycine
Y: Y) Methionine
Z: Z) Phenylalanine
Answer: Y) Y) Methionine
Biogas is comprised primarily of methane and what other gas? W) Carbon dioxide X) Carbon monoxide Y) Nitrogen Z) Oxygen
W: W) Carbon dioxide
X: X) Carbon monoxide
Y: Y) Nitrogen
Z: Z) Oxygen
Answer: W) W) Carbon dioxide
The theoretical maximum power that can be extracted from a wind turbine is dictated by Betz’s Law. Which of the following is closest to the maximum percentage of kinetic energy that can be captured by a turbine? W) 33.9 X) 59.3 Y) 74.6 Z) 85.1
W: W) 33.9
X: X) 59.3
Y: Y) 74.6
Z: Z) 85.1
Answer: X) X) 59.3
Saltwater desalination is a very energy-intensive process when practiced at large scale. What technology is predominantly used for saltwater desalination in the United States? W) Reverse osmosis X) Ion exchange Y) Salt precipitation Z) Solar distillation
W: W) Reverse osmosis
X: X) Ion exchange
Y: Y) Salt precipitation
Z: Z) Solar distillation
Answer: W) W) Reverse osmosis
NASA’s Aqua MODIS satellite instrument senses the color of Earth’s surface oceans. Identify all of the following three statements relevant to Aqua MODIS data that are true: 1) The greenest seawater is found at the centers of ocean gyres 2) A bloom of coccolithophores increases seawater albedo 3) A bloom of cyanobacteria absorbs light in the 430–450 nanometer band
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Which of the following reactions does NOT require biotin? W) Conversion of pyruvate to oxaloacetate X) Conversion of acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA Y) Conversion of propionyl-CoA to methylmalonyl-CoA Z) Conversion of oxaloacetate to succinate
W: W) Conversion of pyruvate to oxaloacetate
X: X) Conversion of acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA
Y: Y) Conversion of propionyl-CoA to methylmalonyl-CoA
Z: Z) Conversion of oxaloacetate to succinate
Answer: Z) Z) Conversion of oxaloacetate to succinate
Through what anatomical feature does water exit a sponge? W) Osculum X) Ostium Y) Atrium Z) Coelom
W: W) Osculum
X: X) Ostium
Y: Y) Atrium
Z: Z) Coelom
Answer: W) W) Osculum
One of the most important industrial uses of vanadium pentoxide is as a catalyst for the production of what acid?
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What is the name for the phenomenon in which electrons move from an atomic orbital on one atom to the π* antibonding orbital of another, when available?
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What bright features extending from the Sun’s photosphere, often loop-shaped, are composed of relatively cool plasma that emits visible light? W) Sunspots X) Flares Y) Prominences Z) Van Allen belts
W: W) Sunspots
X: X) Flares
Y: Y) Prominences
Z: Z) Van Allen belts
Answer: Y) Y) Prominences
Greenschists and blueschists both derive from mafic parent rocks. Why do they have different mineral compositions? W) They formed at different pressures and temperatures X) They crystallized at different rates Y) Greenschists are acidic Z) Blueschists were exposed to oxygen
W: W) They formed at different pressures and temperatures
X: X) They crystallized at different rates
Y: Y) Greenschists are acidic
Z: Z) Blueschists were exposed to oxygen
Answer: W) W) They formed at different pressures and temperatures
What is the term for malignant tumors of the connective tissues?
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The mechanisms involved in aligning homologous chromosomes in meiosis are also useful for which of the following? W) Repairing nicks X) Repairing single-stranded breaks Y) Repairing double-stranded breaks Z) Repairing point mutations
W: W) Repairing nicks
X: X) Repairing single-stranded breaks
Y: Y) Repairing double-stranded breaks
Z: Z) Repairing point mutations
Answer: Y) Y) Repairing double-stranded breaks
The ideal gas constant is another form of what other constant, but written in energy per unit temperature per mole rather than energy per unit temperature per particle?
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What is the molecular geometry about the nitrogen atoms in hydrazine?
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The Department of Energy’s advanced reactor research supports new designs for liquid metal-cooled fast reactors. In these new designs, what metal is used to cool the reactor fuel?
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What US Environmental Protection Agency regulation mandates that gasoline contain a minimal amount of ethanol or other biofuel?
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If $y$ varies jointly with $x$ and $z$, and $y = 12$ when $x = 4$ and $z = 5$, find $y$ when $x = 20$ and $z = 4$.
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What is the standard deviation of the following list of 4 numbers: 3, 3, 9, 17?
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In an optical microscope, lenses of plastic and glass direct and focus the light. What is the name of the distance between the specimen being viewed and the front lens of the objective?
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What scientist’s name is given to the number that is used to characterize whether a flow is laminar or turbulent?
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Which of the following statements best explains why triethylamine is more basic than ammonia? W) Alkyl groups elevate the energy of nitrogen’s nonbonding HOMO X) Alkyl groups lower the energy of nitrogen’s nonbonding HOMO Y) Alkyl groups elevate the energy of nitrogen’s nonbonding LUMO Z) Alkyl groups lower the energy of nitrogen’s nonbonding LUMO
W: W) Alkyl groups elevate the energy of nitrogen’s nonbonding HOMO
X: X) Alkyl groups lower the energy of nitrogen’s nonbonding HOMO
Y: Y) Alkyl groups elevate the energy of nitrogen’s nonbonding LUMO
Z: Z) Alkyl groups lower the energy of nitrogen’s nonbonding LUMO
Answer: W) W) Alkyl groups elevate the energy of nitrogen’s nonbonding HOMO
The salt lithium fluoride is far less soluble than both lithium iodide and potassium fluoride. What theory explains this by characterizing Lewis acids and bases in terms of polarizability and charge density?
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What type of rotating neutron stars are classified into rotation-powered, accretion-powered, and magnetars?
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A breccia lens, shatter cones, tektites and spherulites can be found in which of the following areas? W) Cape Cod, Massachusetts X) Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Y) Honolulu, Hawaii Z) Yellowstone, Wyoming
W: W) Cape Cod, Massachusetts
X: X) Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
Y: Y) Honolulu, Hawaii
Z: Z) Yellowstone, Wyoming
Answer: X) X) Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
What is the dot product of $\mathbf{4i} - \mathbf{6j}$ and $-\mathbf{3i} + \mathbf{j}$?
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Find the volume of the solid obtained by rotating about the $y$-axis the region bounded by $$y = x - x^4$$ and $$y = 0$$.
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Which of the following characteristics makes Xenon-135 an effective neutron poison in nuclear reactors? W) Cherenkov radiation from beta decay of Xenon-135 X) Full valence shell Y) High thermal neutron capture cross-section Z) Unstable with half-life of 9.2 hours
W: W) Cherenkov radiation from beta decay of Xenon-135
X: X) Full valence shell
Y: Y) High thermal neutron capture cross-section
Z: Z) Unstable with half-life of 9.2 hours
Answer: Y) Y) High thermal neutron capture cross-section
What fraction of the speed of light must a person drive in order that incoming 450 terahertz red light would appear to be 540 terahertz green light?
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