MS Sample Set 12, Round 4 from NSB
What is the term for a body that is so massive that light and information cannot escape its gravitational pull?
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What parameter of a planet’s orbit is a measure of how closely the orbit approximates a perfect circle? W) Inclination X) Semi-major axis Y) Radial velocity Z) Eccentricity
W: W) Inclination
X: X) Semi-major axis
Y: Y) Radial velocity
Z: Z) Eccentricity
Answer: Z) Z) Eccentricity
What element composes the largest percentage of the dry weight of a human being?
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What specialized type of adipose tissue is found in mammalian infants and is solely used for heat production?
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What vector quantity includes both the speed of an object and the direction of its motion?
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A solid composed of an unknown material has a mass of 10 grams and a volume of 4.6 cubic centimeters. To two significant figures and in grams per cubic centimeter, what is the density of this solid?
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What type of nuclear‐energy‐producing reaction uses hydrogen isotopes like deuterium and tritium?
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Scientists across the nation use the Advanced Light Source to study the structures of various samples. At what national lab is this facility located?
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Round 5,137.58 to the nearest ten.
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A rhombus has diagonals of length 9 and 32. What is its area?
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Materials that compose the Earth’s crust have densities that are different from the bulk density of the Earth. Which of the following is closest to the average density, in grams per cubic centimeter, of Earth’s continental crust? W) 2.7 X) 3.3 Y) 4.5 Z) 5.5
W: W) 2.7
X: X) 3.3
Y: Y) 4.5
Z: Z) 5.5
Answer: W) W) 2.7
The geologic time scale is divided into eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages. Which of the following best describes how geologic time is divided in the Phanerozoic Eon? W) Divisions are based on time periods of equal length X) Divisions are based on evidence of paleoclimates Y) Divisions are based on domination by groups of major fauna Z) Divisions are based on domination by major rock types
W: W) Divisions are based on time periods of equal length
X: X) Divisions are based on evidence of paleoclimates
Y: Y) Divisions are based on domination by groups of major fauna
Z: Z) Divisions are based on domination by major rock types
Answer: Y) Y) Divisions are based on domination by groups of major fauna
What molecule is used as the energy currency of the cell due to its high‐energy phosphorus–oxygen bonds?
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What specific energetic aspect of a reaction do enzymes reduce?
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Scientists at Oak Ridge National Lab are studying the properties of the nuclide nickel-78. If nickel has atomic number 28, how many neutrons does nickel-78 have?
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Scientists at SLAC are developing low-cost water-purification devices that generate hydrogen peroxide using solar energy, oxygen, and what other molecule?
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Assuming all locations have similar weather conditions, at which of the following locations would you expect a barometer to yield the highest reading? W) Key West, Florida X) Denver, Colorado Y) Chicago, Illinois Z) Nashville, Tennessee
W: W) Key West, Florida
X: X) Denver, Colorado
Y: Y) Chicago, Illinois
Z: Z) Nashville, Tennessee
Answer: W) W) Key West, Florida
Oceanic crust ranges in age from newly formed to about 200 million years old. In what area of the ocean floor would you find the oldest crust? W) Along the rift valley X) Along a continental coastline Y) Within the abyssal plain Z) Adjacent to an atoll
W: W) Along the rift valley
X: X) Along a continental coastline
Y: Y) Within the abyssal plain
Z: Z) Adjacent to an atoll
Answer: X) X) Along a continental coastline
Kate sips some juice and notices that it is sour. What can she reasonably hypothesize about the juice? W) It likely contains an acid X) It likely contains a base Y) It would likely neutralize with acetic acid Z) It would likely neutralize with muriatic acid
W: W) It likely contains an acid
X: X) It likely contains a base
Y: Y) It would likely neutralize with acetic acid
Z: Z) It would likely neutralize with muriatic acid
Answer: W) W) It likely contains an acid
A carbohydrate contains 15 oxygen atoms. How many hydrogen atoms does it contain?
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What is the volume of a right rectangular prism with dimensions 3 by 4 by 7?
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A horse on the outer edge of a circular carousel is 40 feet from the center of rotation. A horse on the inner edge is 15 feet from the center. During a ride of 8.5 rotations, to the nearest hundred feet, how much further in linear distance will the outer horse travel than the inner horse?
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Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have built an observatory to study how rocks fracture, a process that influences greenhouse gas emissions, impacts groundwater, and induces seismicity. In particular, this research is most relevant to the harvesting of what energy resource? W) Shale gas X) Crude oil Y) Geothermal energy Z) Cellulosic ethanol
W: W) Shale gas
X: X) Crude oil
Y: Y) Geothermal energy
Z: Z) Cellulosic ethanol
Answer: W) W) Shale gas
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have been studying dendrite formation, a process that limits rechargeable battery life, in next-generation lithium manganese nickel oxide cathodes. These dendrites are primarily composed of what element?
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Which of the following is an example of a chemical change? W) Cutting a piece of paper X) Boiling water Y) Dissolving table salt in water Z) Burning toast
W: W) Cutting a piece of paper
X: X) Boiling water
Y: Y) Dissolving table salt in water
Z: Z) Burning toast
Answer: Z) Z) Burning toast
Rank the following three substances in order of increasing viscosity:
Choices:
Correct Order:
The structural stability of bone is due to the presence of a highly-mineralized form of what protein?
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What type of mimicry is demonstrated by the nonvenomous snake eel, which looks like the highly venomous banded sea snake?
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What is the distance, in astronomical units to the nearest whole number, from the Earth to the Sun?
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Which of the following lengths, in kilometers, is closest to the average distance covered by a single minute of latitude on Earth’s surface? W) 2 X) 20 Y) 50 Z) 100
W: W) 2
X: X) 20
Y: Y) 50
Z: Z) 100
Answer: W) W) 2
If a line is perpendicular to the line with equation $$y = -3x + 4$$ at the point $$(1,1)$$, what is the slope of the perpendicular line?
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Identify all of the following four numbers that are divisible by 9:
Choices:
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For any given element, the quantity of what particle is specified by its atomic number?
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Identify all of the following three statements that are true of speed and velocity:
Choices:
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Which of the following structures can be found in an E. coli cell? W) Endoplasmic reticulum X) Ribosome Y) Mitochondrion Z) Nucleus
W: W) Endoplasmic reticulum
X: X) Ribosome
Y: Y) Mitochondrion
Z: Z) Nucleus
Answer: X) X) Ribosome
You are looking at a cytological map of a chromosome, which has several points indicated on it. To what do each of these points correspond?
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Find the product of the following two radical expressions: $6\sqrt{3}$ times $4\sqrt{3}$.
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At how many points do the graphs of the following equations intersect? $$4x + y = 1$$ $$(x + 3)^2 + (y - 3)^2 = 9$$
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A body is moving with constant acceleration. In meters per second squared, what is the magnitude of this acceleration if it moves 4 meters in the first second, 7 meters in the next, and 10 meters in the one after that?
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To two significant figures and in newtons, what is the weight of a block on Earth’s surface that has a mass of 0.40 kilograms?
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Which of the following is closest to the percentage of the Moon’s surface that is illuminated by the Sun during Third Quarter? W) 25% X) 50% Y) 75% Z) 100%
W: W) 25%
X: X) 50%
Y: Y) 75%
Z: Z) 100%
Answer: X) X) 50%
Identify all of the following three stellar spectral types that can be found in the main sequence:
Choices:
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A geneticist has stained the chromosomes of a normal adult human cell to create a karyotype. How many autosomal chromosomes does she see?
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What condition associated with infection during pregnancy with cytomegalovirus and Zika virus is characterized by smaller-than-normal head size in infants?
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If a right triangle has an exterior angle of measure 165°, what is the degree measure of the larger of its acute interior angles?
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Giving your answer in slope-intercept form, what is the equation of the line that contains the points $(-2,3)$ and $(14,-5)$?
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