Prelims

K-Circle Science Quiz2013

P1.

• X is a glycoprotein found in the saliva of vampire bats. It is composed of 411 amino acids. It functions as an anticoagulant, inhibiting coagulation factors IX (IXa) and X (Xa), thus keeping the blood of the bitten victim from clotting while the bat is drinking.

P2.

• Quote by a certain dead Navy fighter pilot-"I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket

protector, nerdy engineer," he said in February 2000 in one of his rare public appearances. "And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession”.

Name this pilot whose accomplishments transcended all geographical boundaries.

P3.

• The following minerals are detectable in _________ by X-ray diffraction: brushite, octacalcium phosphate, magnesium-containing whitlockite, and carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite

P4. What is being described ??

• The spatulae tipped setae facilitate attractive forces called van der Waals forces to arise between the setae structures and the surface.

• These van der Waals interactions involve no fluids. The setae are also self-cleaning and will usually remove any clogging dirt . Recent studies have also revealed that apart from the setae, secreted phospholipids also come into play. These lipids lubricate the setae.

P5. What has been blocked out ?

P6. Identify this very famous astronomer.

• In 1994, engineers at Apple Computer code-named the Power Macintosh 7100 X in the hope that Apple would make "billions and billions" with the sale of the PowerMac 7100. The name was only used internally, but X was concerned that it would become a product endorsement and sent Apple a cease-and-desist letter. Apple complied, but engineers retaliated by changing the internal codename to "BHA" for "Butt-Head Astronomer". X then sued Apple for libel, a form of defamation, in federal court. The court granted Apple's motion to dismiss X's claims and opined in dicta that a reader aware of the context would understand Apple was "clearly attempting to retaliate in a humorous and satirical way"

P7.

• X literally means “that which resembles a cloud”. X is supposed to have originated from the bones of Maharishi Dadhichi. Acoording to mythology Maharishi Dadhichi made the weapon Vajrayudha(thunderbolt) with his bones and presented it to Indra to kill Vritrasura.Vajrayudha while finding its triumphant way through the sky, produced sparkles which became X

P8.

• X is an anglerfish of the family Brachionichthyidae.

• X are small fish, growing up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long, have skin covered with denticles (tooth-like scales), giving them the alternate name warty anglers. They are slow-moving fishes that prefer to 'walk' rather than swim, using their modified pectoral fins to move about on the sea floor.

P9.

The definition of planet set in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) states that, in the Solar System, a planet is a celestial body which:

(a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to

overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and

(c) _________________

P10. Identify

P11. FITB

• The French mathematician _____ invented the eponymous _____ ____ in its modern form in 1631. Its use was described in detail in English in Navigatio Britannica (1750) by John Barrow, the mathematician and historian. In some languages, this device is called a nonius. It was also commonly called a nonius in English until the end of the 18th century. Nonius is the Latin name of the Portuguese astronomer and mathematician Pedro Nunes who in 1542 invented a related but different system.

P12.

• A ________ radio receiver, also called a _____ set is a very simple radio receiver, popular in the early days of radio. It needs no battery or power source and runs on the power received from radio waves by a long wire antenna. It gets its name from its most important component, known as a _______ detector, originally made with a piece of _________ mineral such as galena. This component is now called a diode.

P13.

• The “story of synthia” is a cartoon about Synthia or Mycoplasma Laboratorium. What special about this organism?

P14.

Where in automobiles will you come across the following reactions?

• (1) 2 NaN3 → 2 Na + 3 N2 (g)

• (2) 10 Na + 2 KNO3 → K2O + 5 Na2O + N2 (g)

• (3) K2O + Na2O + 2 SiO2 → K2O3Si + Na2O3Si (silicate glass)

P15.

• Who was the first Indian to win the World Food Prize?

P 16.Identify this Marine Biologist, shown here in a very apt setting.

P 17.Form of photography/processing that yields hyper-realistic details, from direct sunlight to the deepest shadows – Called ?

18.

• Apart from inventing X, in 1896 Y also wrote Niruddesher Kahini, the first major work in Bengali science fiction. He supposedly was the first science fiction writer in the Bengali language.

P19. Who is the author of this manuscript ?

*P20.Id the two gentlemen ….

*P21. What has been blocked out ?

*P22.

• In addition to working as a scientist, X painted. He was a member of the Chelsea Arts Club, where he created amateurish watercolors. Less well known is that he also painted in another medium, living organisms. X painted ballerinas, houses, soldiers, mothers feeding children, stick figures fighting and other scenes using bacteria. He produced these paintings by growing microbes with different natural pigments in the places where he wanted different colors. He would fill a petri dish with agar and then use a wire lab tool called a loop to inoculate sections of the plate with different species. The paintings were technically very difficult to make. X had to find microbes with different pigments and then time his inoculations such that the different species all matured at the same time.

*P23. What is this kind of cloud formation called ? It is associated with extreme weather..

*P24. This Indian Science Fiction novel (subtitled “A novel of Fevers, Delirium and Discovery”) describes a transmigration – not of souls, butof one person’s disposition and temperament, bit by bit, to another person – through a physical entity.

*P25.

X is the sum of the first 36 natural numbers , and thus it is a triangular number.

X is also an abundant number and a palindrome.The harmonic mean of the decimal digits of X is 6.The Roman numeral for X, DCLXVI, has exactly one

occurrence of all symbols whose value is less than 1000 The sine of the angle X° multiplied by -2 is equal to

the golden ratio

*P26. After the transistor was invented, its first consumer-level appearance was in a Hearing-Aid.When the first practical Solar Cells were developed, what was the first product that they were used for ?

*P27. What animal has the following physiological characteristics -

Very High Blood Sugar Levels - 200-300 mg/dL

Very High Sodium in the Diet – will even drink Sea Water

Stores large amounts of Fat

*P 28.Figure 7 from a successful patent.Name the patent and the patentee.

*P29.

• In paleontology, a X taxon is a taxon that disappears from one or more periods of the fossil record, only to appear again later. X taxa are observational artifacts that appear to occur either because of (local) extinction, later resupplied, or as a sampling artifact. If the extinction is conclusively found to be total (global or worldwide) and the supplanting species is not a lookalike (an Elvis species), the observational artifact is overcome.

*P30.Lignin

Vanillin

• X are mostly made of a polymer called Lignin which in turn is made up of repeating units of Vanillin.

• Conversion of Lignin to Vanillin could possibly be one of the reasons behind this “phenomenon”.

• Which “phenomenon” ?

*P31.

• Blaise Pascal introduced a primitive form of X machine in the 17th century in his search for a perpetual motion machine.

• A X is a kind of curve, generalizing cycloids, epicycloids, hypocycloids, trochoids, and involutes. Given a curve attached to a plane which is moving so that the curve rolls without slipping along a given curve attached to a fixed plane occupying the same space, then a point attached to the moving plane describes a curve in the fixed plane called a X.

*P32. Id this nobel laureate.

P33. What’s X?

• The “X” Snake (now Zamenis longissimus, previously Elaphe longissima), is a nonvenomous snake native to Europe. The species has been of cultural and historical significance for its role in ancient Greek and Roman mythology and derived symbolism.

• The common name “X” of the species refers to the ____________ whose temples the snake was encouraged around.The species along with Four-lined Snakes also is carried in an annual religious procession in Cucullo in central Italy, which is of separate origin and was later made part of the catholic calendar.

34. Which instrument is Dr. Sheldon Cooper playing ?

35. X and Y ?

• This zombie movie titled “Decay” is set at a place X. Humans get converted to zombies because of the effect of Y.

Answers

P1.

• X is a glycoprotein found in the saliva of vampire bats. It is composed of 411 amino acids. It functions as an anticoagulant, inhibiting coagulation factors IX (IXa) and X (Xa), thus keeping the blood of the bitten victim from clotting while the bat is drinking.

The Answer is…

Draculin

P2.

• Quote by a celebrated Navy fighter pilot-"I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket

protector, nerdy engineer," he said in February 2000 in one of his rare public appearances. "And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession”.

Name this pilot whose accomplishments transcended all geographical boundaries.

The Answer is…

Neil Armstrong

P3.

• The following minerals are detectable in _________ by X-ray diffraction: brushite, octacalcium phosphate, magnesium-containing whitlockite, and carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite

The Answer is…

Dental Calculus/Tartar

P4. What natural phenomenon is being described ?

• The spatulae tipped setae facilitate attractive forces called van der Waals forces to arise between the β-keratin lamellae/setae/spatulae structures and the surface.

• These van der Waals interactions involve no fluids. The setae are also self-cleaning and will usually remove any clogging dirt . Recent studies have also revealed that apart from the setae, secreted phospholipids also come into play. These lipids lubricate the setae.

The Answer is…

The Stickiness of a Gecko’s feet

P5. What has been blocked out from this cover dated August 2012?

The Answer is…

Microbes

P6.

• In 1994, engineers at Apple Computer code-named the Power Macintosh 7100 X in the hope that Apple would make "billions and billions" with the sale of the PowerMac 7100. The name was only used internally, but X was concerned that it would become a product endorsement and sent Apple a cease-and-desist letter. Apple complied, but engineers retaliated by changing the internal codename to "BHA" for "Butt-Head Astronomer". X then sued Apple for libel, a form of defamation, in federal court. The court granted Apple's motion to dismiss X's claims and opined in dicta that a reader aware of the context would understand Apple was "clearly attempting to retaliate in a humorous and satirical way“.

The Answer is…

Carl Sagan

P7.

• X literally means “that which resembles a cloud”. X is supposed to have originated from the bones of Maharishi Dadhichi. According to mythology, Maharishi Dadhichi made the weapon Vajrayudha (thunderbolt) with his bones and presented it to Indra to kill Vritrasura. After Vajrayudha’s triumph in the air, it produced sparkles which became X. Identify X.

The Answer is…

Abhrakam

P8.

• X is an anglerfish of the Brachionichthyidae family. Growing up to 15 cm in length, they have skin covered with denticles (tooth-like scales), giving them the alternate name ‘warty anglers’. They are slow-moving fish that prefer to 'walk' rather than swim, using their modified pectoral fins to move about on the sea floor. Identify X.

The Answer is…

Handfish

P9.

The definition of planet set in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) states that, in the Solar System, a planet is a celestial body which:

(a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to

overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and

(c) _________________

The Answer is…

Has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

P10. Identify

The Answer is…

Richard Leakey

P11. FITB

• The French mathematician Pierre _____ invented the eponymous _____ ____ in its modern form in 1631. Its use was described in detail by mathematician-historian John Barrow in his Navigatio Britannica (1750). In some languages, this device is called a nonius. It was also commonly called a nonius in English until the end of the 18th century. Incidentally, Nonius is also the Latin name of Portuguese mathematician and astronomer Pedro Nunes, who in 1542 invented a related but different system.

The Answer is…

Answer 11

• Vernier Scale invented by Pierre Vernier

P12.

• A ________ radio receiver, also called a _____ set is a very simple radio receiver, popular in the early days of radio. It needs no battery or power source and runs on the power received from radio waves by a long wire antenna. It gets its name from its most important component, known as a _______ detector, originally made with a piece of _________ mineral such as galena. This component is now called a diode.

The Answer is…

Crystal Radio

P13.

• The “story of synthia” is a cartoon about Synthia or Mycoplasma Laboratorium. What special about this organism?

The Answer is…

First Synthetic Organism

P14.

Where in automobiles will you come across the following reactions?

• (1) 2 NaN3 → 2 Na + 3 N2 (g)

• (2) 10 Na + 2 KNO3 → K2O + 5 Na2O + N2 (g)

• (3) K2O + Na2O + 2 SiO2 → K2O3Si + Na2O3Si (silicate glass)

The Answer is…

Airbags

P15.

• Who was the first Indian to win the World Food Prize?

The Answer is…

Prof. M. S. Swaminathan

P 16.Identify this Marine Biologist, shown here in a very apt setting.

The Answer is…

Famous for the book Silent Spring – Rachel Carson

P 17.This form of photography yields hyper-realistic details, from direct sunlight to the deepest shadows. What is it called ?

The Answer is…

High Dynamic RangeImaging

18.

• Apart from inventing X, in 1896 Y also wrote Niruddesher Kahini, the first major work in Bengali science fiction. He supposedly was the first science fiction writer in the Bengali language.

The Answer is…

X-Crescograph and Y-J.C. Bose

P19. Who is the author of this manuscript ?

The Answer is…

Euclid

*P20.Id the two gentlemen ….

The Answer is…

JBS Haldane and PC Mahalanobis

*P21. What has been blocked out ?

The Answer is…

Gonorrhea

*P22.

• In addition to working as a scientist, X painted. He was a member of the Chelsea Arts Club, where he created amateurish water colours. Less well known is the fact that he also employed another medium for his colours - living organisms. X painted ballerinas, houses, soldiers, mothers feeding children, stick figures fighting and other scenes using bacteria. He produced these paintings by growing microbes with different natural pigments in the places where he wanted different colours. X had to find microbes with different pigments and then time his inoculations such that the different species all matured at the same time. Identify this artist who wielded colours and micro-organisms alike.

The Answer is…

Alexander Fleming

*P23. What is this kind of cloud formation called ? It is associated with extreme weather.

The Answer is…

The Supercell of a Mesocyclone.

*P24. This Indian Science Fiction novel (subtitled “A novel of Fevers, Delirium and Discovery”) describes a transmigration – not of souls, butof one person’s disposition and temperament, bit by bit, to another person – through a physical entity.

The Answer is…

The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh

*P25.

X is the sum of the first 36 natural numbers , and thus it is a triangular number.

X is also an abundant number and a palindrome.The harmonic mean of the decimal digits of X is 6.The Roman numeral for X, DCLXVI, has exactly one

occurrence of all symbols whose value is less than 1000 The sine of the angle X° multiplied by -2 is equal to

the golden ratio

The Answer is…

*P26. After the transistor was invented, its first consumer-level appearance was in a Hearing-Aid.When the first practical Solar Cells were developed, what was the first product that they were used for ?

The Answer is…

Telephones. Bell Laboratories, the developers of the earliest silicon-based solar cells first used them in batteries for telephones.

*P27. What animal has the following physiological characteristics -

Very High Blood Sugar Levels - 200-300 mg/dL

Very High Sodium in the Diet – will even drink Sea Water

Stores large amounts of Fat

The Answer is…

The Camel. The Bactrian in particular.

*P 28. The diagram is sourced from a successful patent.Name the patent and the patentee.

The Answer is…

Nikolai Tesla and Dynamo

*P29.

• In paleontology, a X taxon is a taxon that disappears from one or more periods of the fossil record, only to appear again later. X taxa are observational artifacts that appear to occur either because of (local) extinction, later resupplied, or as a sampling artifact. If the extinction is conclusively found to be total (global or worldwide) and the supplanting species is not a lookalike (an Elvis species), the observational artifact is overcome.

The Answer is…

Lazarus Species

*P30.Lignin

Vanillin

• X are mostly made of a polymer called Lignin which in turn is made up of repeating units of Vanillin.

• Conversion of Lignin to Vanillin could possibly be one of the reasons behind this “phenomenon”.

• Which “phenomenon” ?

The Answer is…

The Smell(Fragrance) of old books

*P31. Identify X

• Blaise Pascal introduced a primitive form of X machine in the 17th century in his search for a perpetual motion machine.

• A X is a kind of curve, that generalises Cycloids, Epicycloids, Hypocycloids, Trochoids and Involutes. Given a curve attached to a plane which is moving so that the curve rolls without slipping along a given curve attached to a fixed plane occupying the same space, then a point attached to the moving plane describes a curve in the fixed plane called a X.

The Answer is…

Roulette

*P32. Id this nobel laureate.

The Answer is…

Rita Levi Montalcini(Discoverer of Nerve Growth Factor)

P33. What’s X?

• The “X” Snake (now Zamenis longissimus, previously Elaphe longissima), is a nonvenomous snake native to Europe. The species has been of cultural and historical significance for its role in ancient Greek and Roman mythology and derived symbolism.

• The common name “X” of the species refers to the ____________ whose temples the snake was encouraged around.The species along with Four-lined Snakes also is carried in an annual religious procession in Cucullo in central Italy, which is of separate origin and was later made part of the catholic calendar.

The Answer is…

Aesculapian Snakes(Rod)

34. Which instrument is Dr. Sheldon Cooper playing ?

The Answer is…

Theremin

35. X and Y ?

• This zombie movie titled “Decay” is set at a place X. Humans get converted to zombies because of the effect of Y.

The Answer is …

X-LHC and Y- Higgs Boson