MS Sample Set 13, Round 17 from NSB
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Lab are studying the process of aberrant O-linked glycosylation [glye-kaw-sil-AY-shun] that occurs in some neurodegenerative diseases. In this process, sugars are linked to proteins through oxygen atoms. Which of the following best describes when this process occurs in cells? W) During transcription X) After transcription but before translation Y) During translation Z) After translation
W: W) During transcription
X: X) After transcription but before translation
Y: Y) During translation
Z: Z) After translation
Answer: Z) Z) After translation
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Lab have designed a fuel rod cladding alloy made of iron, chromium, and aluminum to replace current zirconium alloys. Which of the following is the best description of the functionality of the fuel rod cladding? W) Maximal absorption of neutrons X) Minimal absorption of neutrons Y) Low thermal conductivity Z) Low melting temperature
W: W) Maximal absorption of neutrons
X: X) Minimal absorption of neutrons
Y: Y) Low thermal conductivity
Z: Z) Low melting temperature
Answer: X) X) Minimal absorption of neutrons
Find the value of the following expression: (113 – 22) ÷ 11.
Acceptable Answers:
What is the radius of the circle with equation x² + y² – 8y – 65 = 0?
Acceptable Answers:
The ureters connect the kidneys to what other organ?
Acceptable Answers:
What class of hormones is characteristically composed of four carbon rings and is usually lipid-soluble?
Acceptable Answers:
What is the term for the energetic barrier a reaction must overcome in order to get started?
Acceptable Answers:
What is the chemical formula for copper(I) oxide?
Acceptable Answers:
Rank the following three solar system objects in terms of increasing density: 1) Neptune; 2) Saturn; 3) Uranus.
Choices:
Correct Order:
Order the following four stars from lowest to highest absolute magnitude: 1) The Sun; 2) Sirius; 3) Rigel; 4) Proxima Centauri.
Choices:
Correct Order:
Researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Lab are using ultrashort pulses of an X-ray laser to make videos of molecular reactions in real time. The pulses of photons produced by the laser last 100 attoseconds. Expressing your answer in seconds as 10 raised to the nearest integer power, what is the duration of these pulses?
Acceptable Answers:
Researchers at Ames Laboratory recently filed for two patents for a new type of refrigeration technology that could save as much as 30% in energy usage, since, rather than using a heat engine, it uses materials that cool in response to external magnetic fields. What is the term for this type of material?
Acceptable Answers:
What is the length of a 20-degree arc of a circle with circumference 24?
Acceptable Answers:
How many three-digit integers are multiples of 37?
Acceptable Answers:
Which of the following is an example of a biotic factor? W) Soil type X) Weather Y) Insolation Z) Mushroom diversity
W: W) Soil type
X: X) Weather
Y: Y) Insolation
Z: Z) Mushroom diversity
Answer: Z) Z) Mushroom diversity
Which of the following pairs of organisms best demonstrates the concept of mutualism? W) Hoverflies and wasps X) Mycorrhiza and plants Y) Hermit crabs and snails Z) Cows and grass
W: W) Hoverflies and wasps
X: X) Mycorrhiza and plants
Y: Y) Hermit crabs and snails
Z: Z) Cows and grass
Answer: X) X) Mycorrhiza and plants
Suppose a basketball is thrown upward by a student standing on Earth, with a velocity of 10 m/s. Which of the following must also be TRUE at this instant? W) Earth recoils at 10 m/s downward X) Earth recoils at 10 m/s upward Y) Earth recoils at an imperceptibly slow speed downward Z) Earth recoils at an imperceptibly slow speed upward
W: W) Earth recoils at 10 m/s downward
X: X) Earth recoils at 10 m/s upward
Y: Y) Earth recoils at an imperceptibly slow speed downward
Z: Z) Earth recoils at an imperceptibly slow speed upward
Answer: Y) Y) Earth recoils at an imperceptibly slow speed downward
Given that you have one mole of each of the following three substances at 4 °C, rank them in terms of increasing temperature change when 100 calories of energy is transferred into them: 1) Copper; 2) Nitrogen gas (constant volume); 3) Borosilicate glass.
Choices:
Correct Order:
What outermost part of the Sun is visible to the naked eye only during a total solar eclipse?
Acceptable Answers:
Identify all of the following three bodies in the solar system that are believed to be volcanically active: 1) Mercury; 2) Io; 3) Mars.
Choices:
Correct Answers:
Many of today’s electronic devices are made with Rare Earth Elements, or REEs. Because the U.S. lacks a domestic production capability, scientists at Idaho National Laboratory are interested in identifying ways to recapture REEs from discarded high-tech devices. Which of the following is an REE that you would expect to find in a typical cell phone? W) Neodymium X) Cesium Y) Lithium Z) Promethium
W: W) Neodymium
X: X) Cesium
Y: Y) Lithium
Z: Z) Promethium
Answer: W) W) Neodymium
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Lab are studying new therapies for glaucoma, a disease that damages what nerve that carries visual information from the eye?
Acceptable Answers:
The point (4, –3) is reflected across the y-axis, and the resulting point is then translated 8 units upward. What are the coordinates of the final image point?
Acceptable Answers:
What is the coefficient of the $ab^2$ term in the binomial expansion of $(5a - 8b)^3$?
Acceptable Answers:
Plants are comprised of three main non-reproductive organs. Which of the following choices correctly summarizes these three organs? W) Flowers, roots, stems X) Stems, roots, leaves Y) Stems, flowers, leaves Z) Roots, stems, shoots
W: W) Flowers, roots, stems
X: X) Stems, roots, leaves
Y: Y) Stems, flowers, leaves
Z: Z) Roots, stems, shoots
Answer: X) X) Stems, roots, leaves
Identify all of the following four structures whose musculature is primarily composed of smooth muscle: 1) Heart; 2) Stomach; 3) Artery; 4) Bicep.
Choices:
Correct Answers:
What is the term for the change in temperature for a given change in depth within Earth’s interior?
Acceptable Answers:
Identify all of the following three statements that are true of permafrost: 1) Building roads over permafrost has no impact on the soil because roads are relatively narrow; 2) Thawing permafrost produces unstable ground that may undergo severe frost heaving; 3) Building structures on stilts helps keep permafrost from thawing.
Choices:
Correct Answers:
What are the smallest and largest integers that satisfy the following absolute value inequality: $|x - 6| < 4$?
Acceptable Answers:
A 5-digit palindrome has three different digits and is divisible by 6. What is the largest such number?
Acceptable Answers:
Blood that leaves the right ventricle will most likely visit what organ before entering the left atrium?
Acceptable Answers:
The light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis primarily serve to synthesize ATP and what other high-energy molecule for the Calvin cycle?
Acceptable Answers:
Which of the following tectonic plates does not share a plate boundary with the North American Plate? W) African Plate X) Cocos Plate Y) Nazca Plate Z) Juan de Fuca Plate
W: W) African Plate
X: X) Cocos Plate
Y: Y) Nazca Plate
Z: Z) Juan de Fuca Plate
Answer: Y) Y) Nazca Plate
Earth’s perihelion is closest in time to which of the following? W) Vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere X) Vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere Y) Winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere Z) Winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere
W: W) Vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere
X: X) Vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere
Y: Y) Winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
Z: Z) Winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere
Answer: Y) Y) Winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
Which of the following is an example of a compound with an ionic bond? W) Carbon tetrachloride X) Phosphorous trichloride Y) Sodium sulfide Z) Methane
W: W) Carbon tetrachloride
X: X) Phosphorous trichloride
Y: Y) Sodium sulfide
Z: Z) Methane
Answer: Y) Y) Sodium sulfide
Gay-Lussac’s Law would be most useful for determining temperature changes of a gas in which of the following situations? W) Within a sealed soda can X) Within a cloud Y) Within a teapot Z) Within a balloon as it is filled
W: W) Within a sealed soda can
X: X) Within a cloud
Y: Y) Within a teapot
Z: Z) Within a balloon as it is filled
Answer: W) W) Within a sealed soda can
For the function $$f(x)=4x-7$$, what is $$f^{-1}(17)$$?
Acceptable Answers:
In a particular year, if May 8 is on a Monday, on what day of the week is August 18?
Acceptable Answers:
Which of the following best describes the earliest fish in the fossil record? W) Jawed with soft bodies X) Jawed with armored bodies Y) Jawless with soft bodies Z) Jawless with armored bodies
W: W) Jawed with soft bodies
X: X) Jawed with armored bodies
Y: Y) Jawless with soft bodies
Z: Z) Jawless with armored bodies
Answer: Z) Z) Jawless with armored bodies
Two species, A and B, have a predator-prey relationship. Which of the following best describes the graphs of their populations vs. time? W) When the graph of species A has a positive slope, the graph of species B has a positive slope X) When the graph of species A has a positive slope, the graph of species B has a negative slope Y) When the graph of species A has a positive slope, the graph of species B is uncorrelated Z) When the graph of species A is at a maxima, the graph of species B is at a maxima
W: W) When the graph of species A has a positive slope, the graph of species B has a positive slope
X: X) When the graph of species A has a positive slope, the graph of species B has a negative slope
Y: Y) When the graph of species A has a positive slope, the graph of species B is uncorrelated
Z: Z) When the graph of species A is at a maxima, the graph of species B is at a maxima
Answer: X) X) When the graph of species A has a positive slope, the graph of species B has a negative slope
Which of the following quantities is zero for a falling object that has reached terminal velocity? W) Velocity X) Speed Y) Net displacement Z) Net force
W: W) Velocity
X: X) Speed
Y: Y) Net displacement
Z: Z) Net force
Answer: Z) Z) Net force
Which of the following constants relates the temperature of a particle to its most probable energy? W) Planck’s constant X) Newton’s constant Y) Avogadro’s constant Z) Boltzmann’s constant
W: W) Planck’s constant
X: X) Newton’s constant
Y: Y) Avogadro’s constant
Z: Z) Boltzmann’s constant
Answer: Z) Z) Boltzmann’s constant
According to Stefan’s Law, doubling the temperature of a black body results in its total energy radiated being multiplied by what factor?
Acceptable Answers:
Identify all of the following three statements that are true of losing streams: 1) Water will tend to flow from the stream to the underlying groundwater system; 2) The water table is above the top of the stream; 3) Losing streams are common in karst topography.
Choices:
Correct Answers:
An amine is characterized by what element that usually possesses a lone pair in compounds?
Acceptable Answers:
Identify all of the following three types of compounds whose molecular formula is always the same as its empirical formula: 1) Ionic; 2) Molecular covalent; 3) Metallic.
Choices:
Correct Answers: