Genius Science Test: Can You Achieve a Perfect Score?

What is Polaris otherwise known as?

The North Star

Alpha boo

The Dog Star

The Southern Nebula

The North Star

Polaris, also called Alpha Ursae Minoris, Earth’s present northern polestar, or North Star, at the end of the “handle” of the so-called Little Dipper in the constellation Ursa Minor.

What type of navigation/detection is used by bats and dolphins?

Kepler

Echolocation

Doppler

Radar

Echolocation

Echolocation is a technique used by bats, dolphins and other animals to determine the location of objects using reflected sound. This allows the animals to move around in pitch darkness, so they can navigate, hunt, identify friends and enemies, and avoid obstacles.

What is the congenital condition in which a living thing has no pigmentation, resulting in white hair and pink eyes?

Vitiligo

Achromotrichia

Albinism

Apigmentation

Albinism

Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal, plant, or person, resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino.

Which of these is NOT a type of cloud?

Stratus

Cirrus

Cumulonimbus

Brontide

The different types of clouds are cumulus, cirrus, stratus and nimbus.

What is the process by which plants convert light to energy?

Photoconversion

Luceoconversion

Photosynthesis

Luceosynthesis

What does the pH level of a substance tell you about it?

Acidity

Positive charge

Age

Viscosity

Acidity

The pH scale measures whether there is more hydronium or hydroxide in a solution. In other words, it tells us how basic or acidic the solution is. A lower pH means something is more acidic, also known as a stronger acid. A higher pH means it is more alkaline or a stronger base.

What’s a meteorological term for an enormous tidal wave?

Tsunami

Typhoon

Hurricane

Tropical depression

Tsunami

Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea.

Which of these is NOT a component of blood?

Plasma

White blood cells

Lymph nodes

Platelets

Lymph Nodes

Blood is a specialized body fluid. It has four main components: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

What is a group of fish called?

Pride

Flock

Herd

School

School

A school is a group of the same fish species swimming together in synchrony; turning, twisting and forming sweeping, glinting shapes in the water.

Who discovered sterilization and pasteurization?

Louis Pasteur

Niels Bohr

Isaac Newton

Pierre Curie

Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization.

What instrument is used to measure the magnitude of earthquake?

Scoville scale

Anemoscope

Barometer

Richter scale

Richter scale

The Richter scale measures the largest wiggle (amplitude) on the recording, but other magnitude scales measure different parts of the earthquake.

According to legend, an apple tree led to which scientific discovery?

Gravity

Visible spectrum

Color constancy

Evolution

Gravity

Newton’s apple tree is intertwined with his discovery of the law of gravitation – a story Newton himself told.

What is the term for when life begins to sprout from a seed?

Germination

Inception

Gestation

Conception

Germination

The beginning of the growth of a seed into a seedling is known as germination. All seeds need water, oxygen and the right temperature to germinate.

Which plant species is considered carnivorous?

Wolf fern

Venus flytrap

Venus flyeater

Piranha plant

Venus flytrap

The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States in North Carolina and South Carolina.

What do you call the green pigments that give plants their green color?

Chloropigments

Cyanophyll

Cyanopigments

Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll gives plants their green color because it does not absorb the green wavelengths of white light. That particular light wavelength is reflected from the plant, so it appears green.

What device do you light when you need an open flame and/or heat for a science experiment?

Jensen burner

Henson burner

Burton burner

Bunsen burner

Bunsen Burner

A Bunsen burner, named after Robert Bunsen, is a kind of ambient air gas burner used as laboratory equipment; it produces a single open gas flame, and is used for heating, sterilization, and combustion.

What optical illusion occurs when light distorts or displaces a distant image?

Alpenglow

Earth’s shadow

Mirage

Light pillar

Mirage

Mirages are multiple images formed by atmospheric refraction.

Which element has the symbol “Cu”?

Carbon

Gold

Copper

Nickel

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity.

What does hematophagy mean in animals?

They eat their young

They hibernate in winter

They feed on blood

They have wings

They feed on blood

Hematophagy is the practice of certain animals of feeding on blood. Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious proteins and lipids that can be taken without enormous effort, hematophagy has evolved as a preferred form of feeding in many small animals such as worms and arthropods.

What mineral is colloquially known as “fool’s gold”?

Pyragyritet

Pyrite

Chalcocite

Chromium

Pyrite

“Fool’s Gold” is technically known as pyrite or iron sulfide (FeS2) and is one of the most common sulfide minerals.

What superlative status does the blue whale have?

Loudest animal in the ocean

Slowest moving mammal

Biggest animal on Earth

Most ancient living species

Biggest animal on Earth

Blue whales have been known to grow as long as 98 feet, making them the largest animals on land or in the sea. The African Elephant is considered the largest animal on land.

What is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way?

Andromeda Galaxy

Triangulum Galaxy

Circinus Galaxy

Bode’s Galaxy

Andromeda Galaxy

Despite the immense distance, Andromeda is the closest large galaxy to our Milky Way, and it’s bright enough in the night sky that it’s visible to the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere.

What concept in physics states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object in rest tends to stay at rest?

Inertia

Gravity

Torque

Density

Inertia

The First Law: Inertia. Newton’s first law of motion describes inertia. According to this law, a body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted on by a net external force.

What is it called when an animal can glow in the dark?

Radiating

Luxification

Bioglowing

Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Bioluminescent creatures are found throughout marine habitats, from the ocean surface to the deep seafloor.

What does a barometer measure?

Atmospheric pressure

Earthquake intensity

Wind speed

Humidity

Atmospheric Pressure

A barometer measures atmospheric pressure in units of measurement called atmospheres or bars.

Turquoise is a hydrate phosphate of aluminum and which metal?

Nickel

Copper

Gold

Silver

Copper

Turquoise is composed of hydrated copper and aluminum phosphate. It forms when circulating water alters other aluminum-rich rocks in desert environments. Turquoise has a slightly waxy appearance and can range in color from blue to shades of green and yellowish gray.

Which of these is the weakest type of storm?

Tropical storm

Tropical depression

Category 1: Hurricane

Typhoon

Tropical depression

The weakest tropical cyclones are called tropical depressions. If a depression intensifies such that its maximum sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour , the tropical cyclone becomes a tropical storm.

The Alvarez hypothesis claims that an asteroid caused what event?

The extinction of the dinosaurs

Pangaea splitting

The formation of the Grand Canyon

The beginning of the ice age

The extinction of the dinosaurs

The Alvarez hypothesis posits that the mass extinction of the dinosaurs and many other living things during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event was caused by the impact of a large asteroid on the Earth.

Which subatomic particle has a negative charge?

Neutron

Higgs boson

Proton

Electron

Electron

A third type of subatomic particle, electrons, move around the nucleus. The electrons have a negative electrical charge. An atom usually contains an equal number of positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons.

Pyroclastic flow is associated with what part of nature?

Oceans

Hurricanes

Wildfires

Volcanoes

Volcanoes

A pyroclastic flow is a dense, fast-moving flow of solidified lava pieces, volcanic ash, and hot gases. It occurs as part of certain volcanic eruptions.

Stegosaurus

Brontosaurus

Pterodactyl

T-Rex

Brontosaurus

Apatosaurus excelsus was the original type species of Brontosaurus, first named by Marsh in 1879.

Earth’s atmosphere is composed primarily of which element?

Argon

Carbon Dioxide

Oxygen

Nitrogen

Earth’s atmosphere is composed of about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and one percent other gases. These gases are found in layers (troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere) defined by unique features such as temperature and pressure.

At what temperature does water boil?

212 degrees Fahrenheit

200 degrees Fahrenheit

212 degrees Celsius

112 degrees Celsius

212 degrees Fahrenheit

This temperature is equivalent to 100 degrees Celsius. The actual boiling point can vary with altitude.

What is the name for the layer of plasma around stars, including the Sun?

Corona

Sunspot

Heliofield

Stellarsphere

Corona

The corona of the Sun is easiest to see when a total solar eclipse takes place. Special instruments can be used to observe the corona as well.

What is the outermost layer of Earth?

Outer core

Shell

Crust

Mantle

Crust

The crust is the outermost layer of Earth.

What is the study of birds called?

Ornithology

Ichthyology

Apiology

Herpetology

Ornithology

Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the “methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them.” Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds.

What is this ancient bug-like creature?

Trilobite

Pterodactyl

Raptor

Coelacanth

Trilobite

Trilobites are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods.

What is the chemical symbol for gold?

Au

Pb

Cu

Ag

Au

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79, making it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally.

What is the term for the naming system used for living species, like plants and animals?

Binary coding

Binomial nomenclature

Double naming

Two-party system

What do you call a group of crows?

A gaggle

A parliament

A murder

A pod

A murder

A group of crows is called a “murder.” There are several different explanations for the origin of this term, mostly based on old folk tales and superstitions. For instance, there is a folktale that crows will gather and decide the capital fate of another crow.