MS Sample Set 14, Round 17 from NSB
If the product of two binomials is $h^2 + 4h - 396$ and one factor is $h - 18$, what is the other factor?
Acceptable Answers:
Given the arithmetic sequence with first three terms $-10$, $-3$, $4$, what is the 220th term?
Acceptable Answers:
An extrusive lava flow erupts at the surface. The resulting igneous rock is partially eroded, at which point alternating layers of shale and limestone are deposited on top. Which of the following features must be present in the resulting formation? W) A sill X) A nonconformity Y) A syncline Z) A basin
W: W) A sill
X: X) A nonconformity
Y: Y) A syncline
Z: Z) A basin
Answer: X) X) A nonconformity
During which time period did lobe-finned fish begin to adapt to living partially on land? W) Devonian X) Silurian Y) Ordovician Z) Cambrian
W: W) Devonian
X: X) Silurian
Y: Y) Ordovician
Z: Z) Cambrian
Answer: W) W) Devonian
What term describes the tendency of waves to bend around obstacles?
Acceptable Answers:
DO NOT ACCEPT:
In general, an object's de Broglie wavelength is inversely proportional to which of the following of its properties? W) Color X) Acceleration Y) Momentum Z) Impulse
W: W) Color
X: X) Acceleration
Y: Y) Momentum
Z: Z) Impulse
Answer: Y) Y) Momentum
Scientists are using the DOE’s Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory to study soybean root nodules, which are one of the few locations where what gas can be reacted to form ammonia?
Acceptable Answers:
Scientists at Fermilab are working with CERN to detect composite particles called glueballs in the Large Hadron Collider. Glueballs are composed of bosons that carry what fundamental force?
Acceptable Answers:
Water and gas diffuse out of plant leaves through tiny openings called what?
Acceptable Answers:
Neuraminidase is present on the surface of the influenza virus. Which of the following statements best describes the mechanism through which neuraminidase inhibitors, or NAIs, act to limit viral spread? W) NAIs inhibit integration of the viral genome into the host genome X) NAIs limit replication by preventing the release of virions from the infected cell Y) NAIs directly bind viral RNA sequences to prevent reverse transcription Z) NAIs are incorporated into host ribosome complexes and limit translation of viral proteins
W: W) NAIs inhibit integration of the viral genome into the host genome
X: X) NAIs limit replication by preventing the release of virions from the infected cell
Y: Y) NAIs directly bind viral RNA sequences to prevent reverse transcription
Z: Z) NAIs are incorporated into host ribosome complexes and limit translation of viral proteins
Answer: X) X) NAIs limit replication by preventing the release of virions from the infected cell
Mariner 10, Messenger, and BepiColombo are probe missions to primarily study which planet?
Acceptable Answers:
When electron degeneracy cannot support the mass of a star, the degeneracy of what particle can prevent the collapse of the star into a black hole?
Acceptable Answers:
If $p$ and $q$ are odd integers, identify all of the following three numbers that are always odd: 1) $p + q$; 2) $pq$; 3) $(p + q)^2$.
Choices:
Correct Answers:
A right circular cone has volume 72. A second cone has one-third the radius and four times the height of the first. What is the volume of the second cone?
Acceptable Answers:
How many electrons can be held in the fourth energy level of an atom?
Acceptable Answers:
In SI base units, what is the momentum of a 30-kilogram boulder traveling at 4 meters per second?
Acceptable Answers:
Scientists at SLAC National Accelerator Lab are studying substances that accelerate chemical reactions without being consumed. What is the term for such substances?
Acceptable Answers:
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab are studying the carboxysome, a bacterial microcompartment containing RuBisCO. The function of the carboxysome is most analogous to the function of what eukaryotic organelle? W) Nucleus X) Mitochondria Y) Ribosome Z) Chloroplast
W: W) Nucleus
X: X) Mitochondria
Y: Y) Ribosome
Z: Z) Chloroplast
Answer: Z) Z) Chloroplast
Cygnus X-1 was one of the first X-ray binaries to be observed. What type of object is the more compact member of this system?
Acceptable Answers:
Which of the following mountain belts is a result of upwarping, forming a near-circular dome? W) Adirondacks X) Rockies Y) Cascades Z) Appalachians
W: W) Adirondacks
X: X) Rockies
Y: Y) Cascades
Z: Z) Appalachians
Answer: W) W) Adirondacks
Some fossils are very useful because they are from organisms that existed over a vast region of the Earth, but for a relatively short period of time. What is the term for this type of fossil?
Acceptable Answers:
Which of the following mutations in a coding region would cause the LEAST damage to the rest of the translated protein? W) Deletion of 1 base X) Insertion of 3 bases Y) Insertion of 2 bases Z) Insertion of 1 base
W: W) Deletion of 1 base
X: X) Insertion of 3 bases
Y: Y) Insertion of 2 bases
Z: Z) Insertion of 1 base
Answer: X) X) Insertion of 3 bases
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have made inorganic crystals of germanium sulfide that are arranged in a helical stack of thin sheets. How did they determine the structure of these crystals? W) By shooting a beam of neutrons at the crystals X) By accelerating charged particles and beaming the emitted radiation toward the crystals Y) By using an electron microscope with ultra-relativistic electron beams Z) By using a tiny probe to visualize the surface of the crystals
W: W) By shooting a beam of neutrons at the crystals
X: X) By accelerating charged particles and beaming the emitted radiation toward the crystals
Y: Y) By using an electron microscope with ultra-relativistic electron beams
Z: Z) By using a tiny probe to visualize the surface of the crystals
Answer: X) X) By accelerating charged particles and beaming the emitted radiation toward the crystals
Scientists at Idaho National Lab use the Advanced Test Reactor to produce plutonium-238, which undergoes alpha decay to form what isotope?
Acceptable Answers:
Astronauts on the Apollo missions collected samples of breccias from the surface of the Moon. What process is thought to be primarily responsible for the creation of rock fragments that were later cemented into breccias? W) Plate tectonics X) Meteor impacts Y) Surface cracks that formed as the Moon cooled Z) Early rivers on the Moon’s surface
W: W) Plate tectonics
X: X) Meteor impacts
Y: Y) Surface cracks that formed as the Moon cooled
Z: Z) Early rivers on the Moon’s surface
Answer: X) X) Meteor impacts
Identify all of the following three statements about comets that are true: 1) Comets may have a density as low as 10 percent that of water at STP; 2) Most long-period comets are thought to have originated in the Kuiper belt; 3) It is hypothesized that comets make on average 1000 trips around the sun before being destroyed or ejected from the solar system.
Choices:
Correct Answers:
What type of solid does not have a crystal structure, such as glass and plastic?
Acceptable Answers:
A certain transformer has 120 windings on the input side and 180 windings on the output side. If the input voltage is 60 volts, then, in volts, what is the output voltage?
Acceptable Answers:
Giving your answer in base 6, what is ONE-FIVE base 6 plus TWO-THREE base 6?
Acceptable Answers:
Two runners each run a 400 meter race at constant paces, finishing in 51 and 55 seconds, respectively. To the nearest whole number, how many meters separate them when the faster runner finishes?
Acceptable Answers:
The seeds of a certain plant are covered in tiny barbs. Which of the following is their likely mode of dispersal? W) Furry animals X) Wind Y) Water Z) Insects
W: W) Furry animals
X: X) Wind
Y: Y) Water
Z: Z) Insects
Answer: W) W) Furry animals
200 birds are captured and tagged, and a few weeks later, 60 birds are captured again, of which 15 have tags. What is the best estimate for the number of birds in the population?
Acceptable Answers:
Consider the reaction of solid silver with hydrogen sulfide gas to form silver sulfide and hydrogen gas. In the balanced form of this equation, what is the sum of the coefficients?
Acceptable Answers:
Rank the following three chlorine isotopes in increasing order of their natural abundance: 1) Chlorine-35; 2) Chlorine-37; 3) Chlorine-38.
Choices:
Correct Order:
Binary systems where a neutron star accretes mass from its companion result in observable radiation in what part of the electromagnetic spectrum?
Acceptable Answers:
Evidence of the asteroid impact that created the Chicxulub crater can be found in the enrichment of what element in the K-Pg boundary rock layer?
Acceptable Answers:
Hair, horns, and feathers are primarily composed of what structural protein?
Acceptable Answers:
Identify all of the following three statements that are true of flower anatomy: 1) The filament supports the pistil; 2) The stigma is located at the tip of the pistil; 3) The stigma is at the top of a tube called the style.
Choices:
Correct Answers:
The measure of an exterior angle of a regular polygon is 5 degrees. How many sides does the polygon have?
Acceptable Answers:
A 5-digit palindrome has 3 different digits and is divisible by 12. What is the largest such number?
Acceptable Answers:
What term refers to the tendency of an object to resist changes in motion?
Acceptable Answers:
Faraday's law of induction most directly states which of the following relationships? W) A static magnetic field generates an electric field X) A static electric field generates a magnetic field Y) A changing magnetic field generates an electric field Z) A changing electric field generates a magnetic field
W: W) A static magnetic field generates an electric field
X: X) A static electric field generates a magnetic field
Y: Y) A changing magnetic field generates an electric field
Z: Z) A changing electric field generates a magnetic field
Answer: Y) Y) A changing magnetic field generates an electric field
The same region of DNA results in different mRNA transcripts, depending on the organ in which the gene is expressed. This is an example of what form of RNA processing?
Acceptable Answers:
What is the term for the functional units that compose skeletal myofibrils?
Acceptable Answers:
Assuming a gravitational force equal to that on the surface of Earth, what integer is closest to the weight in pounds of a 7-kilogram mass?
Acceptable Answers:
Six different 4-digit numbers can be formed from the digits 1, 1, 3, and 3. What is the sum of those 6 numbers?
Acceptable Answers: