Category: SciFun

LIGHTER MOMENTS

Have Fun! Enjoy the Lighter Moments…

Q: Which university does a hippopotamus go to?

A: Hippocampus

Q: What’s the difference between a dog and a marine biologist?

A: One wags a tail and the other tags a whale.

Q: What did Abacus say to the students?

A: You can count on me!

Q: What gas never cries? 

A: Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas)

Q: How many software engineers does it take to change a light bulb?

A: None. That’s a hardware issue.

-Team ScienceNow Digital

 

SCIENCE QUESTIONS

Be curious… Know the truth behind the facts…

What’s the Colour of Mirror?

It’s actually green. A human eye can distinguish between 10 million different colours. But to identify the colour of mirror, whether it is white or silver is very difficult. Mirror reflects the colour that is seen in it. It reflects all the images in the exact opposite direction due to angle of reflection and distance. But every mirror absorbs a very tiny amount of light within the 510 nanometre range. So, as the spectrum of visible light is green, the colour of the mirror is technically little green. 

Where Do Permanently Deleted Files Go in Computers?

Actually the computer doesn’t delete anything. When we delete a file, we just put it into a new address or a pointer on the hard disk where it is stored. Large files are stored in multiple locations. When we open a file, the hard drive follows the pointer to identify the data. Thus any file is never erased and is always physically present on the hard disk. The files can be retrieved using special software. The data can only be erased when the hard disk is destroyed.

Where is the Centre of Universe?

The universe started with a “Big Bang” about 13.7 billion years ago and it has been expanding ever since. The centre of this expansion is everywhere. No matter where you are in the universe, everything will seem to be expanding or moving away from you at the same rate. Everything looks the same in every direction. So, there’s no one particular centre of Universe, rather the Centre of Universe is everywhere. 

Why does fish smell so strongly?

In order to maintain fluid balance, fishes must fill their cells with amino acids and amines to remain safe from the saltiness of seawater. Ocean fish have trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) for this purpose. However once the fish is killed and bacteria and fish enzymes convert TMAO into trimethylamine, it gives off the characteristic fishy odour.

Why do taste buds change over time?

As we age, our taste buds actually change. Most of what we think of as taste comes from our noses’ smell receptors. As we age, it gets harder for our body to replace those receptors when they die off. As a result, people in old age are sometimes less sensitive to taste and so they gravitate toward things that have stronger, more detectable flavours.

-Dr Siddhivinayak Barve

Editor, ScienceNow Digital

SCIENCE QUIZ

Get ready to test your Grey Matter…

1. The BrahMos Missile was developed by which country?
A. India
B. India & China
C. Russia
D. India & Russia

2. What is the purest form of Iron?
A. Wrought iron
B. Pig iron
C. Cast iron
D. None of the above

3. Which is the most abundant gas in the earth’s atmosphere?
A. Oxygen
B. Nitrogen
C. Methane
D. Hydrogen

4. Which type of plastics can be recycled?
A. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
B. Styrofoam
C. Thermoplastics
D. All of the above

5. Which metal is a liquid at room temperature?
A. Mercury
B. Tin
C. Lead
D. Brass

6. Which gas is found in soda water?
A. Oxygen
B. Argon
C. Carbon dioxide
D. Helium

7. What is the speed of Earth around sun?
A. 60 km/sec
B. 90 km/sec
C. 10 km/sec
D. 30 km/sec

8. Splitting of light into its constituent colours is known as what?
A. Refraction
B. Dispersion
C. Frequency
D. Prism

9. Cotton fibres are made of ______.
A. Cellulose
B. Wax
C. Fur
D. Seeds

10. Which historical victory achieved by a Spacecraft got Mars on its First try?
A. Astrosat
B. Chandrayaan
C. Manglayaan
D. Aryabhata

11. Rate of growth of plant is measured by which instrument?
A. Barometer
B. Hygrometer
C. Udometer
D. Auxanometer

12. The Ozone layer lies in the _______.
A. Troposphere
B. Biosphere
C. Stratosphere
D. Mesosphere

13. Celsius and Fahrenheit show the same temperature at ______.
A. 40
B. 39
C. 37
D. 41

14. ‘White Revolution’ is related to what?
A. Cotton
B. Milk
C. Water
D. Ice

15. Hypertension is the term used for _______.
A. Increase in heart rate
B. Decrease in heart rate
C. Decrease in blood pressure
D. Increase in blood pressure

16. What is the physical phase of life called?
A. Protoplasm
B. Cytoplasm
C. Organelles
D. None of the above

17. Which among the following was first human-made plastic?
A. Bakelite
B. Polyethene
C. Celluloid
D. Nylon

18. Amalgam’ is a term used for an alloy of a metal with ______.
A. Copper
B. Mercury
C. Lead
D. Aluminium

19. Which is the largest blood vessel in the body?
A. Alveoli
B. Artery
C. Vein
D. Aorta

20. The first synthetic fibre made by man was ______.
A. Nylon
B. Terycott
C. Polyester
D. Rayon

21. Which of the below is water soluble vitamin?
A. Vitamin C
B. Niacin
C. Riboflavin
D. All of the above

22. Radio Carbon Dating is use to estimate the age of ______.
A. Monuments
B. Fossils
C. Rocks
D. Soil

23. The fastest growing plant is ______.
A. Ashoka
B. Banyan
C. Eucalyptus
D. Coconut

24. Energy is measured in units called ______.
A. Joules
B. Newton
C. Watts
D. Ohm/mtr

25. Ozone holes are more pronounced at the ______.
A. Tropic of cancer
B. Poles
C. Equator
D. Tropic of Capricorn

 

-Team ScienceNow
The answers will be posted a week later

Believe it or Not!

The incredible but true…believe it or not….

• Sunglasses were invented by the Chinese as a way for judges to hide their emotions in the courtroom!

• Molecular Biology Prof. Rany Lewis transplanted spider DNA into goats that allows them to produce milk with an extra protein than can be extracted and spun into spider silk!
• The CIA uses board games to train its officers!

With a melting point of 85-degree Fahrenheit, you can turn a solid cube of Gallium into a liquid just by holding it in your hand!

• • Located in the Sahara Desert, the world’s longest conveyor belt system is 98 kilometres long – and can be seen from space!

• Gorillas can catch colds from humans!
• Consuming an excessive amount of water in a short period of time can lead to Hyponatremia or water intoxication!
• After examining samples of a 15,000-year-old Tibetan glacier collected in 1992 and 2015, scientists discovered 28 never before seen virus groups!
• The venom from a Golden Lancehead bite is so potent that it’s capable of melting human flesh!

-Team ScienceNow

 

RIDDLES

Just for Fun… Riddles for you!

What is neither water nor land, and is always soaking wet?

Wetlands

 

Which two periodic elements, when combined, heal?

Helium and Aluminium (HE + AL)

 

Which four periodic elements, when combined, make up something that terrifies criminals?

Carbon, Oxygen, Phosphorous and Sulphur (C+O+P+S)

 

I can rush, I can be still, I can be hot, I can be cold, I can be hard, I can slip through almost

anything. What am I?

Water

 

It is impossible for me to be created, and I can never be destroyed, I can only change form. What

am I?

Energy

 

-Team ScienceNow

QUIZ

Test your grey matter…

1.  In which month will the Gulmohar tree be at its peak of blossoms, filled with red flowers?

(A) December

(B) January

(C) June

(D) September

 

2. For which of the following tasks will an artificial satellite not be used?

(A) To measure the forests on earth

(B) To transport goods

(V) To telecast TV programmes

(D) To obtain information about weather

 

3. Public Health Department appeals to observe ‘A Dry Day’ once in a week __________.

(A) to prevent mosquito reproduction

(B) to clean up polluted water supply

(C) to tackle water shortage

(D) to make the area disinfectant

 

4.  According to the time of sunrise, starting with the earliest, arrange the cities – Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Shillong in the correct order.

(A) Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Shillong

(B) Shillong, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai

(C) Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Shillong

(D) Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Shillong

 

5. Which of the following characteristic of a surface helps to form an image?

(A) Hardness

(B) Transparency

(C) Opacity

(D) Smoothness

 

6. What is the shape of galaxy Mandakini?

(A) Spiral

(B) Elliptical

(C) Barred Spiral

(D) Irregular

 

7.  For avoiding pollution, which method of disposing wet garbage should be followed?

(A) To throw garbage in the dumping ground.

(B) To burn the garbage.

(C) To throw the garbage in stream water.

(D) To put earthworms in the garbage.

 

8. In which organ does mixing of inhaled Oxygen in the blood and exhaling of Carbon dioxide from the blood take place?

(A) Lungs

(B) Windpipe/Trachea

(C) Air-sacs

(D) Diaphragm

 

9. Soyabean mixed wheat flour used for making rotis provides more ________ to the body.

(A) carbohydrates

(B) fats

(C) proteins

(D) salt

 

10. Guess who am I? I am formed out of ice and dust particles. I am seen after certain years. My identity is my long feathery tail.

(A) Asteroid

(B) Dwarf planet

(C) Meteor

(D) Comet

 

11. On which tree-leaves, does a female tiger butterfly lay eggs?

(A) Cotton (Rui)

(B) Mango

(C) Mulberry

(D) Banyan

 

12. The colour of soil in Maharashtra state is different in various regions, as ____.

(A) the temperature of each region is different

(B) the proportion of minerals is different in the stone from which the soil is formed

(C) there is a difference in rainfall

(D) different crops are grown on the soil

 

13. Which of the following animals is a vertebrate?

(A) Toad

(B) Cockroach

(C) Earthworm

(D) Snail

 

14. When grain was stored in a closed tin, there were no maggots in it. But when opened after some months, there were maggots in the tin. From where they could have entered the tin?

(A) They must have entered the tin from the gaps

(B) They were hidden in the gaps

(C) There must be maggot eggs in the grain, when the grain was filled in the tin

(D) Maggots were born automatically

 

15. Which vehicle will require minimum energy to carry equal mass at equal distance?

(A) Ship

(B) Aeroplane

(C) Truck

(D) Railway

 

16. Raju sowed coriander seeds in a pot. After a few days, he noticed that the saplings from the pot had rotted. Find the reason.

(A) Got more sunlight

(B) Less use of manure

(C) More water was supplied than required

(D) Less sunlight and more manure were supplied than needed.

 

17. Smoking is prohibited in public place by law because.

(A) it causes diseases to breathing organs

(B) It causes lungs cancer

(c) persons who come in contact with the smokers, have to face bad effects of smoking.

(D) lips turn black.

 

18. Which of the following is an example of uniform linear motion?

(A) A girl coming down a slide

(B) A ball thrown in upward direction

(C) An arrow sent at its aim by the archer

(C) A train starting from station

 

19. Density of planet ________ is less than water.

(A) Earth

(B) Mars

(C) Saturn

(D) Mercury

 

20. A 10 cm long pencil is placed vertically in front of a mirror at a distance of 5 cm. If we join both ends of the pencil and its image to make a rectangle, what will be its area?

(A) 200 cm²

 (B) 50 cm²

(C) 100 cm²

(D) 25 cm²

 

21. What is the principle behind functioning of a pinhole camera?

(A) Light rays travel in a straight line

(B) Light gets reflected

(C) White light is made up of seven colours

(D) While travelling through the hole, light changes its path

 

22. A boy weighing 50 kg is sitting on a see-saw 3 m away from its support. On how many meters a girl should sit, whose weight is 25 kg to balance the see-saw?

(A) 1 m

(B) 2m

(C) 3m

(D) 6 m

 

23. Which astronomical incident takes place when the Sun, the Mercury and the Earth come in a straight line?

(A) Mercury eclipse

(B) Solar eclipse

(C) Transit of mercury

(D) Earth eclipse

 

24. Which year was a leap-year after 1897?

(A) 1898

(B) 1900

(C) 1902

(D) 1904

 

25. Where on Earth can we not have ‘Zero’ shadow day?

(A) Equator

(B) Equator to the tropic of Capricorn

(C) Equator to the tropic of cancer

(D) Both poles

 

-Team ScienceNow

 

ANSWERS

1. C 2. B 3. A  4. B  5. D 6. C 7. D  8. C  9. C  10. D  11. A 12. B  13. A 14.

C  15. A 16. C 17. C 18. C 19. C 20. C  21. A 22. D 23. C 24. D 25. D

Solve This

A king once condemned a prisoner and wanted to give him a very harsh punishment. He keeps a glass containing some hydrochloric acid and another containing an equal amount of sodium hydroxide before the prisoner and asks him to drink both of them. The prisoner knows that the acid is highly corrosive and will destroy the mucous lining, as well as his oesophagus. The other solution is equally bad and will cause him to collapse. But he goes ahead and obeys the order. The king finds that the prisoner has survived without any ill effects.

How did he manage it?

Answer:

The prisoner understood the chemical reactions well. He knew that an acid is always neutralized by an alkali. So he poured the liquids in the two glasses into a third empty glass. When they thus got mixed, they reacted producing salt and water. These were harmless, except for the salty taste!

HCl + NaOH = H 2 O + NaCl

-Team ScienceNow

Riddle

Q I can rush, I can be still, I can be hot, I can be cold, I can be hard, I can slip through almost anything. What am I?

A Water

 

Q Which four periodic elements, when combined, make up something that terrifies criminals?

A Carbon, Oxygen, Phosphorous and Sulphur (C+O+P+S)

 

Q What is neither water nor land, and is always soaking wet?

A Wetlands

 

Q Which two periodic elements, when combined, heal? Helium and Aluminium (HE + AL) It is impossible for me to be created, and I can never be destroyed, I can only change form. What am I?

A Energy

-Team ScienceNow

SCIENCE QUIZ

Test your Grey Matter… Enjoy the Quiz….

1. Vitamin provided by sunlight –
a. Vitamin A b. Vitamin B c. Vitamin C d. Vitamin D

2. Which of the following is also called ‘stranger gas’?
a. Argon b. Neon c. Xenon d. Nitrous oxide

3. The hardest substance available on earth is –
a. Gold b. Iron c. Diamond d. Platinum

4. Non-stick cooking utensils are coated with ___________
a. Teflon b. PVC c. black paint d. polystyrene

5. Potassium nitrate is used in ____________
a. medicine b. fertiliser c. salt d. glass

6. What is the physical phase of life called?
(a) Protoplasm (b) Cytoplasm (c)Organelles (d) None of the above

7. Which is the smallest flightless bird?
(a)Penguin (b) Kiwi (c) Ostrich (d) Rhea

8. Which of the following is not a mixture?
(a)Steel (b) Aluminium (c) Graphite (d) Glass

9. Which science is sometimes called ‘central science’?
(a)Physics (b) Chemistry (c) Biology (d) Geology

10. Soda water contains ________
(a) carbonic acid (b) sulphuric acid (c) carbon dioxide (d)nitrous acid

11. What is most soluble in water?
(a) camphor (b) sulfur (c) common salt (d) sugar

12. Which of the gas is not known as a greenhouse gas?
(a) Methane (b) Nitrous oxide (c) Carbon dioxide (d) Hydrogen

13. What is laughing gas?
(a) Nitrous Oxide (b) Carbon monoxide (c) Sulphur dioxide (d)Hydrogen peroxide

14. The energy of food is measured in:
(a)Calories (b) Celsius (c) Kelvin (d) None of the above

15. Who is the main producer of our ecosystem?
(a) Humans (b) Plant (c) Animals (d) Bacteria

16.  Proteins are made up of …….
a. Sugars b. amino acids c. fatty acids d. nucleic acids

17. Which mission of NASA brought first human to moon?
a. Apollo program b. Gemini Program c. Mercury Program d. None

18. _________ are called the ‘soldiers of the body’.
a. RBC b. WBC c. Proteins d. Bones

19. Detergent is defined as __________.
a. A liquid surfactant b. liquid soluble c. liquid solvent d. liquid solution

20. Which of the following is the first calculating device?
a. Abacus b. Calculator c. Turing Machine d. Pascaline

21. Who among the following considered as the ‘father of artificial intelligence’?
a. Charles Babbage b. Lee De Forest c. John McCarthy d. JP Eckert

22. A Universal donor person have a blood group:
a. A b. AB c. O d. B

23. Which one of the following waves are used by the common TV remote control?
a. Radio waves b. Lasers c. Infrared waves d. Ultrasonic waves

24. An identity theft scheme in computer is known as?
a. Vishing b. Fishing c. Jacking d. Phishing

25. Numismatics is the study of:
a. Coins b. Numbers c. Stamps d. Space

-TEAM SCIENCENOW DIGITAL

ANSWERS
1.d, 2. C, 3. d, 4. a, 5. b, 6. a 7. b 8. c 9. b 10. c 11. d 12. d
13. a 14. a, 15. b 16. b 17. a 18. b 19. a 20. a 21. c 22. c 23. C 24. d,
25. a

 

 

RIDDLE

SOLVE THIS

Have fun… Solve this Riddle…

-I can rush, I can be still, I can be hot, I can be cold, I can be hard, I can slip through almost anything. What am I?

Water

-Which four periodic elements, when combined, make up something that terrifies criminals?

Carbon, Oxygen, Phosphorous and Sulphur (C+O+P+S)

-What is neither water nor land, and is always soaking wet?

Wetlands

-Which two periodic elements, when combined, heal?

Helium and Aluminium (HE + AL)

-It is impossible for me to be created, and I can never be destroyed, I can only change form. What am I?

Energy

-Team ScienceNow