HS Sample Set 13, Round 1 from NSB
Which of the following best describes the luster of cut diamonds? W) Adamantine X) Vitreous Y) Pitchy Z) Resinous
W: W) Adamantine
X: X) Vitreous
Y: Y) Pitchy
Z: Z) Resinous
Answer: W) W) Adamantine
The evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis marked a significant change in Earth history that led to permanent changes in the redox state of Earth’s atmosphere and had lasting impacts on Earth’s organisms. Which of the following best describes when the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis occurred relative to the Cambrian Explosion? W) One billion years after the Cambrian Explosion X) The same time as the Cambrian Explosion Y) Two billion years before the Cambrian Explosion Z) Three billion years before the Cambrian Explosion
W: W) One billion years after the Cambrian Explosion
X: X) The same time as the Cambrian Explosion
Y: Y) Two billion years before the Cambrian Explosion
Z: Z) Three billion years before the Cambrian Explosion
Answer: Y) Y) Two billion years before the Cambrian Explosion
The most common high-energy intermediate used to drive biological reactions contains what nucleobase?
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What type of plant cell opens and closes stomata in leaves?
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When in standard position, which of the following angles has its terminal side in the fourth quadrant? W) 3π/2 X) 5π/4 Y) 8π/5 Z) 13π/6
W: W) 3π/2
X: X) 5π/4
Y: Y) 8π/5
Z: Z) 13π/6
Answer: Y) Y) 8π/5
How many different five-digit integers are palindromes that contain three different digits?
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When performing a titration, what point is defined as the point at which the indicator changes color?
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Which of the following solutions or substances will have the highest vapor pressure at room temperature? W) Water with 0.1 mole fraction sodium chloride X) Water with 0.1 mole fraction sucrose Y) Water with 0.1 mole fraction ethanol Z) Pure water
W: W) Water with 0.1 mole fraction sodium chloride
X: X) Water with 0.1 mole fraction sucrose
Y: Y) Water with 0.1 mole fraction ethanol
Z: Z) Pure water
Answer: Y) Y) Water with 0.1 mole fraction ethanol
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab are using nanoscale imaging techniques to study a biological process that is analogous to a process plants use, but in which the water splitting is artificially produced. What biological process is this?
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Researchers at Los Alamos National Lab are studying how to convert sugars to fuels. One of the sets of reactions they are studying converts glucose into what three-carbon alkane?
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A 5-kilogram mass is dropped from rest. In meters per second, how fast is it falling after 2 seconds?
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Given that the thermal expansion coefficient for steel is $10^{-5}\,/^\circ\text{C}$, how much will a 1200-meter bridge expand if the temperature rises from –3 °C to 5 °C? (in meters)
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The skeletons of Chondrichthyans are composed of what structural tissue?
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The cohesion-tension hypothesis attempts to explain the movement of liquid through what plant system?
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Kepler’s first law of planetary motion addresses which of the following aspects of orbiting bodies? W) The relationship between orbital period and distance from the Sun X) The relationship between mass and rotational period Y) The shape of orbits Z) The area swept out by an orbiting body
W: W) The relationship between orbital period and distance from the Sun
X: X) The relationship between mass and rotational period
Y: Y) The shape of orbits
Z: Z) The area swept out by an orbiting body
Answer: Y) Y) The shape of orbits
What type of reflecting telescope has a secondary mirror deflect the light by 90 degrees so that it is focused at an eyepiece on the side of the telescope?
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Researchers at Argonne National Lab are using, as a catalyst in the water-splitting reaction, a metal that has high resistance to corrosion and is found in higher abundance in meteorites than in the Earth’s crust. What metal are they using?
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Researchers at Oak Ridge National Lab have discovered a new solid catalyst to convert gaseous methane to methanol. Because the catalyst is not the same phase as the reactants, it can be said to be what type of catalyst?
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Riemann sums are most directly related to which of the following? W) Average rate of change X) Derivatives Y) Definite integrals Z) Indefinite integrals
W: W) Average rate of change
X: X) Derivatives
Y: Y) Definite integrals
Z: Z) Indefinite integrals
Answer: Y) Y) Definite integrals
What is $\displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0}\frac{\sin^2(x) + \sin(x^2)}{x^2}$?
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Which of the following pairs of compounds have the same empirical formula? W) Water and hydrogen peroxide X) Methane and ethane Y) Glucose and formaldehyde Z) Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide
W: W) Water and hydrogen peroxide
X: X) Methane and ethane
Y: Y) Glucose and formaldehyde
Z: Z) Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide
Answer: Y) Y) Glucose and formaldehyde
Identify all of the following three statements that are always TRUE of chemical equilibrium: 1) Adding a reactant always results in an equilibrium shift to the right; 2) Decreasing the temperature of a reaction always results in a decrease in the equilibrium constant $K$; 3) Adding a product to a reaction always results in a decrease in $K$.
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If a rigid body is experiencing no net torque and no net forces, it is said to be in what state?
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Consider a square ABCD where there is a one-ohm resistor on each side of the square. If there is also a one-ohm resistor bridging the AC diagonal, what is the equivalent resistance in ohms between points A and C?
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A location contains deposits of poorly-sorted mixtures of sediment and rocks, including large boulders. Which of the following geological processes is most likely responsible for these deposits? W) River flow X) Glacier flow Y) Wind erosion Z) Volcanic activity
W: W) River flow
X: X) Glacier flow
Y: Y) Wind erosion
Z: Z) Volcanic activity
Answer: X) X) Glacier flow
Identify all of the following three statements that are true of reverse faults: 1) They form in extensional environments; 2) The footwall moves up relative to the hanging wall; 3) They are common at divergent plate boundaries.
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Consider a restaurant that sells pizza to each of five customers. If the probability that at most one purchases a cheese pizza is 0.43, what is the probability that at least two purchase a cheese pizza?
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You inscribe a circle in a square and then you hit the square with 100 randomly-placed darts. To the nearest whole number, how many of the darts would you expect to land in the circle?
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Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have developed organic dyes capable of converting near-infrared light into visible light for use in solar cell devices. What is the minimum number of 1600-nanometer photons that a dye must absorb in order to emit a single 400-nanometer photon?
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What property of carbon nanotubes contributes to their usefulness in electronics applications? W) Length X) Tensile Strength Y) Conductivity Z) Flexibility
W: W) Length
X: X) Tensile Strength
Y: Y) Conductivity
Z: Z) Flexibility
Answer: Y) Y) Conductivity
What is the adjective for a plant species that possesses two types of sporangia?
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Identify all of the following three Cnidarians that do NOT experience a medusa phase in their life cycles: 1) Sea wasp; 2) Star coral; 3) Sea anemone.
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Which of the following pairs of strains are most predominant in a bent beam? W) Pressure and shear X) Tension and shear Y) Tension and compression Z) Shear and compression
W: W) Pressure and shear
X: X) Tension and shear
Y: Y) Tension and compression
Z: Z) Shear and compression
Answer: Y) Y) Tension and compression
A particular planet has a mass that is one-four hundredth that of the Earth and a radius that is one-eighth that of the Earth. Expressed as a percentage of $g$, what is the surface acceleration due to gravity on this planet?
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One major use of hydrogen industrially is in what industrial process that produces ammonia?
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Rank the following four elements in increasing order of melting point: 1) Sodium; 2) Cesium; 3) Potassium; 4) Lithium.
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What was the first planet discovered with the aid of a telescope?
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Rank the following three stellar spectral types in terms of increasing temperature: 1) A; 2) M; 3) F.
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What is the remainder when $6!$ is divided by 7?
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One of the zeroes of the polynomial $x^3 - 7x^2 + 9x - 63$ is the complex number $3i$. What is the value of the real zero of the polynomial?
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What is the adjective for the type of enzyme inhibition that involves an inhibitor that mimics the shape of the substrate, thereby blocking the active site?
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Indole-acetic acid is an example of what class of plant hormones?
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An electron in a particle accelerator passes through an electric field such that the change in its potential energy is 15 electron-volts. In volts, what is the magnitude of the potential difference in the field from the point where the electron exited to the point where it entered?
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Consider the two displacement vectors $3\hat\imath$ meters and $-4\hat\jmath$ meters. Identify all of the following three statements that are true of this system: 1) Their dot product is zero; 2) They are perpendicular to each other; 3) Their cross product is zero.
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The equilibrium constant for a particular chemical reaction is $1.25\times10^{-2}$. What is the equilibrium constant for the reverse reaction?
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What is the systematic name of the compound NaOCl?
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