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Science Multiple Choice #2

Can you answer these multiple choice questions from the world of science?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: September 17, 2020
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First submittedSeptember 16, 2020
Times taken29,618
Average score68.8%
Rating4.21
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1. Which of these planets is the largest?
Earth
Mars
Mercury
Venus
2. About what percent of the Earth's atmosphere is made up of Oxygen?
0.4%
21%
90%
3. What is the name of the current geological epoch, which began about 11,650 years ago?
Cretaceous
Holocene
Pleistocene
Caveat: some scientists believe we are now in the anthropocene, an epoch defined by rapid human-caused changes
4. What has been the primary cause of the increase in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere in recent decades?
Emission of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels
Increased brightness of the sun
Perturbations in the Earth's orbit
Volcanic activity
5. Which of these animals is most closely related to homo sapiens?
Humpback whale
Iguana
Monarch butterfly
Screech owl
6. What is the coldest possible temperature?
-40 °C
−273.15 °C
About -3.5 million °C
There is no limit
7. What is the approximate diameter of the universe?
About 100,000 light years
About 9.2 billion light years
We don't know, possibly infinite
8. Can a virus alter your DNA?
No
Yes
Retroviruses insert themselves into DNA. About 5-8% of the human genome comes from retroviruses.
9. About how much has the level of the sea risen since 1900?
0.2 meters
12 meters
200 meters
10. Is a tree-kangaroo a real animal?
No
Yes
11. What causes the sound of approaching objects to be at a higher pitch than receding objects?
Butterfly effect
Coriolis effect
Doppler effect
Greenhouse effect
12. What is a telomere?
A method of magnification
A region of repetitive DNA which protects the end of a chromosome
A tear in spacetime, commonly known as a worm-hole
13. When did the non-avian dinosaurs go extinct?
12,000 B.C.
1.2 million years ago
66 million years ago
14. Is it possible to see Saturn from Earth with the naked eye?
No
Yes
Saturn is one of the brightest objects in the night sky
15. True or false. Every single human on Earth has the same number of chromosomes.
True
False
Most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Some genetic disorders, such as Down syndome, cause people to have a different number.
16. About what percentage of an atom's mass is in its nucleus?
23.7%
50.1%
> 99.9%
+16
Level 75
Sep 17, 2020
The best estimate for the size of the universe is about 93 billion light years. Seems to me that there are 2 answers to this question that could be considered correct.
+7
Level 84
Sep 17, 2020
Uh, yeah. You can't include the technically correct answer and have it be wrong in favor of a philosophically more correct answer.
+24
Level ∞
Sep 17, 2020
93 billion light years is just what we can see. I suppose it is theoretically possible that we are in a simulation and the universe stops at exactly the point we can no longer see it. If that's what you're claiming, then good point.
+7
Level 90
Sep 17, 2020
It is a fact that we don't actually know the size of the universe, so "We don't know..." is the correct answer no matter what assumptions we do or don't make about what is or is not beyond what we can observe.
+13
Level 64
Sep 30, 2020
Still a poor questions in my opinion - most of any question regarding the universe could have a plausible answer of "not entirely sure"
+4
Level 65
Oct 2, 2020
I agree with stevediverse. I wish more of the scientific community would use the "I don't know" answer when that is truly the case. Instead they just hypothesize and make theories with questionable scientific evidence, and then the public begins to spread the information claiming it as fact.
+3
Level 72
Oct 5, 2020
The universe is all matter resulting from the big bang, and the limit of the speed of anything coming from that single point in time and space is the speed of light, and we know the age of the universe, so this is really not a good question. "Possibly infinite" is not a valid answer, from our current scientific understanding.
+4
Level ∞
Oct 5, 2020
@bostjan. The Big Bang did not happen from a single point. It happened everywhere at the same time. Also, the universe is expanding faster than the speed of light. All of this is, of course, very confusing. But the question is correct.
+3
Level 72
Feb 23, 2021
The Big Bang is indeed a model of the early universe that started as a singularity. After seeing your comment, I think it is more clear that the issue boils down to scientific modeling versus religious dogma. Please remove the question.
+3
Level ∞
Feb 23, 2021
The question is correct. But don't take my word for it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe

"Because we cannot observe space beyond the edge of the observable universe, it is unknown whether the size of the universe in its totality is finite or infinite. Estimates suggest that the whole universe, if finite, must be more than 250 times larger than the observable universe. Some disputed estimates for the total size of the universe, if finite, reach as high as..."

+4
Level 72
Feb 24, 2021
Thanks for trying to make the options clearer; however, I'm still not satisfied. The question asks the "approximate" diameter of the universe. Approximate implies estimation, so any question of the form "what is the estimated/approximate ____" should not have "I/we don't know" as a valid answer, especially when the known universe has a very measurable diameter. Secondly, I don't know why wikipedia says that the universe is infinite. All of modern science's best cosmological models have the universe with a finite dimensionality. Perhaps if the question was reworded "What is the exact diameter of the universe," the answer would be clear from those options, but as it is worded, the question is not correctly answered by any of the options.
+4
Level 72
Feb 24, 2021
Also, and this is not a particular route I want to argue, since it's a little fringe, but there are some who consider the universe to end wherever anything going on beyond that point no longer has any interaction at all with anything else. That somewhat valid definition of the term (the definition cannot yet be discarded on logical grounds, even if it likely will someday) is necessarily punished by the question. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide what to do, but I recommend removing the question if it can't be reworded clearly. - or at least run it by a qualified Cosmologist and see what he or she thinks.
+4
Level ∞
Sep 17, 2020
But in any case changed the wrong answer to 9.2 billion light years so that a little knowledge is not worse than no knowledge.
+2
Level 84
Sep 19, 2020
I recommend 28 billion light years. Most people know that the universe is about 14 billion years old, and nothing is faster than the speed of light, and so figure that the radius of the universe can be no larger than 14 billion light years and the diameter no larger than 28 billion. Then the number is based on logic, but it still punishes ignorance (as opposed to the observable universe vs. whole universe debate which punished knowledge).
+1
Level 72
Feb 24, 2021
Actually, if you flashed a light in every direction away from you at t=0, the diameter of the sphere of light particles at t=14 G y would be exactly 28 G ly in your frame of reference.
+4
Level 37
Sep 30, 2020
There is the 'Observable Universe' and 'The Universe'. Although we can roughly measure the size of the observable universe by measuring it's rate of expansion, we cannot be sure if this observable universe is the entire thing in itself or if it is embedded into a larger and much more complex outer universe.

We cannot interact with the outer universe and don't know if the laws of physics as we know in our universe, hold in this region. Think of it as our observable universe being an air bubble floating in the larger ocean which is the actual universe.

+2
Level 40
Sep 30, 2020
usually, it is called the size of observable universe, leaving room for the universe to be potentially infinite
+3
Level 69
Aug 7, 2023
That's the observable universe. It's not that nothing further than that exists, it's just that at that point due to the expansion of the universe it expands so much from earth that everything behind it moves away from earth faster than the speed of light, which is why it's physically impossible for us to see anything further
+13
Level 84
Sep 18, 2020
Wait... the tagline for Jurassic Park was "An adventure 65 million years in the making." Has it really been a million years since that movie came out? Time flies.
+6
Level 92
Sep 18, 2020
Wait, you mean Hollywood got something scientifically inaccurate? I may have to re-watch "The Core."
+8
Level 89
Sep 18, 2020
Let's see. I was 17 when the movie came out. I feel about 1,000,017 now. Yep, checks out.
+12
Level ∞
Sep 19, 2020
The movie should been entitled "Mostly-Cretaceous Park".
+13
Level 89
Sep 30, 2020
Note to self: Don't hire this guy to be my marketing manager.
+7
Level 76
Nov 16, 2020
It seems it's a recent modification, cause in fact the commonly accepted date used to be 65 million years. I read many books about dinosaurs when I was a kid, including actual paleonthology books, and watched documentaries, and it was always 65. The 66 date seems to come from a study from 2013, which concluded, and I quote, "66,038,000 years ago - give or take 11,000 years".
+1
Level 67
Aug 7, 2023
Totally agree. I always saw 65 million and I too read a fair amount about dinosaurs in between swirlies.
+1
Level 62
Aug 23, 2021
Wait has it really been that long since Jurassic Park was released? I feel like a fossil!
+2
Level 68
Sep 18, 2020
15/16 :)

For some reason I thought Mars was larger than Earth...

+1
Level 89
Sep 30, 2020
Mars is actually about half the size of Earth :)
+6
Level 64
Sep 30, 2020
The question on climate change is dubious. We still can't be certain that CO2 emissions are the primary cause, though they are doubtless a factor. Also technically the greenhouse effect would be the answer. CO2 Emmisions themselves do not warm up the Earth.
+11
Level 63
Sep 30, 2020
And yet, 95% of us got it right.....
+3
Level 46
Aug 30, 2021
This is because 95% of the population is not scientifically astute, and prone to accept political answers promulgated by other people who are not scientifically astute. So you might say 95% of respondents agree with the wrong answer.
+2
Level 68
Aug 8, 2023
Are you arguing that the 5% who got it wrong are the "scientifically astute" ones?
+7
Level 53
Sep 1, 2021
95% of the population are not scientifically astute, which is why they agree with 98% of scientists.
+12
Level 76
Sep 30, 2020
although we can never be certain, scientific consensus seems to be that it’s now beyond reasonable doubt that CO2 emissions leading to the greenhouse effect are the primary cause.
+11
Level 44
Sep 30, 2020
CO2 is a greenhouse gas, so yes it does act to warm the earth up. Although you're correct there are other gases attributing to global warming.

It's pretty hard to debate at this point that humans are having a huge impact on our climate though.

+3
Level 46
Aug 30, 2021
It's easy to debate the facts. What's hard is to overcome political beliefs.
+1
Level 47
Sep 30, 2020
From my understanding, the greenhouse affect is only worsened by carbon emissoins. Which does warm the earth. But its hard to say how much of an effect this actually has on the global warming. Some theories suggest that the earth has been naturally warming for over a century.
+15
Level ∞
Sep 30, 2020
It's a common rhetorical trick. We can't be certain of anything. Technically yes, we can't be sure of climate change. Neither can we be sure of gravity. Or the existence of other people. The entire universe could be a simulation.

If you are going to take a position that is in opposition to scientific consensus and common sense, then come armed with something stronger than "we can't be sure". Post evidence at the very least.

+2
Level 61
Oct 1, 2020
scientific fact has become consensus now?
+1
Level 65
Oct 2, 2020
I wonder why you chose to include this question. I would disagree that it is common sense. There certainly are scientists that agree that CO2 emissions from human activity are to blame. But there are also scientists who disagree. Those that agree seem to make up the consensus because their message is broadcasted much louder, where the opposing view is intentionally muted. I love that there is a quiz on scientific facts, but I hardly consider this a fact.
+1
Level 46
Aug 30, 2021
There is no scientific consensus. The "consensus" is political, based mostly on IPCC reports published by the UN and revised a number of times, always downward and away from your "consensus." The word "consensus" doesn't even apply to science. "Fact" and "proof" and "data" are the relevant terms. Historically, atmospheric CO2 level increases FOLLOW warming periods, not the other way around.
+8
Level 53
Sep 1, 2021
nah it's not mate, your postulations that it's a political issue is the only political piece of this puzzle. i find it much easier to believe that the multi-trillion dollar oil industry is paying off politicians and media hacks to push a narrative which supports their own wealth than believing that for some reason a global band of scientists decided to troll the earth by inventing a massively elaborate hoax and then providing tons of scientific evidence for it, because... reasons??
+12
Level 39
Oct 2, 2020
The entirety of science really is based on consensus. In science there literally are not absolute facts, just theories that hold well to model the universe.

You can always find "a" scientist that disagrees, or several; but the overwhelming consensus (which represents our best current model) is that climate change, as we see it occurring now, is primarily caused by human activities.

If greenhouse effect is to blame, then fine; but to claim that the greenhouse effect is responsible *rather* than humans would be like a drunk driver claiming that it was simply a transfer of momentum and rapid acceleration that killed the family of four, "not me." I would argue increased CO2 emissions is a valid answer for a cause of climate change.

+2
Level 69
Aug 7, 2023
CO2 emissions are a major contributor to the greenhouse effect, so it's technically correct. Our emissions being the prime factor for global warming is scientific consensus.
+5
Level 24
Sep 30, 2020
All I would say is “corialis” is spelt “coriolis”
+2
Level 65
Oct 2, 2020
agree
+1
Level ∞
Apr 27, 2023
Fixed
+1
Level 43
Sep 30, 2020
100%
+3
Level 62
Sep 30, 2020
12/16 I'm something of a scientist myself
+2
Level 64
Sep 30, 2020
/begin/began/
+1
Level ∞
Apr 27, 2023
Fixed
+1
Level 39
Sep 30, 2020
Do jetpunkers google answers? Or am I just dumb?
+1
Level 67
Sep 30, 2020
i am dumb apparently
+1
Level 45
Oct 1, 2020
I would reconsider the answer about the coldest temperature.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130104143516.htm#:~:text=2-,A%20temperature%20below%20absolute%20zero%3A%20Atoms%20at%20negative%20absolute%20temperature,hottest%20systems%20in%20the%20world&text=Summary%3A,getting%20colder%20than%20zero%20kelvin.

+5
Level 83
Oct 12, 2020
Not really. It's asking for the coldest temperature which is 0 Kelvin.

It's not asking for the lowest value of temperature. If you read about your link more you'll find that even though they created a state with negative Kelvin values, that state is hotter than positive temperatures due to the definition of the Kelvin scale.

It goes from +0 to +∞ to -∞ to -0 with increasing "hotness".

https://www.quantum-munich.de/119947/Negative-Absolute-Temperatures

+4
Level 69
Oct 1, 2020
Virus can alter the DNA on some of my cells but they can't alter MY DNA as a concept it's still my DNA, that's a weridly phrased question
+5
Level ∞
Oct 1, 2020
Viruses alter your DNA and this altered DNA is then passed down to your children. Your DNA is very much changed. It's an important concept to understand.
+4
Level 66
Jan 3, 2021
I think maybe he means something like even if it is altered it is still my dna. Gosh now I am even getting my own brain in a twist haha. But I think he is aiming for the more philosophical/semantics approach.

like if what yours is now mine, is it still yours or is it mine..

+1
Level 77
Aug 7, 2023
I don’t think your characterization of how viruses alter DNA is accurate, QM. Viruses don’t as a matter of course change the DNA of every cell across the body. For instance, a respiratory virus certainly won’t affect sperm and egg cells in a human host in most cases. Yes, it is possible for dormant virus DNA to transfer from parent to child, but I assume this is unlikely and happens most often with retroviruses. Most viruses infect some finite number of cells before the immune system builds antibodies to prevent further spread through the body. Virus DNA does sneak into the human genome, but the DNA of every cell certainly isn’t being changed every time a person gets a cold.
+2
Level ∞
Aug 7, 2023
I never made the claim that a virus changes the DNA of every cell of your body.

"Yes, it is possible for dormant virus DNA to transfer from parent to child, but I assume this is unlikely and happens most often with retroviruses."

I also never said it was likely.

Yes, it happens with retroviruses. And yes, some of your DNA comes from viruses.

+1
Level 62
Aug 23, 2021
Quizmaster you should make another one of these!
+1
Level ∞
Aug 30, 2021
In the works!
+1
Level 46
Aug 30, 2021
You really ought to stop promoting the THEORY that increasing CO2 in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels is the PRIMARY cause of increasing global temperature because while it MIGHT be true, neither you nor anybody else knows that for a FACT. Your answer is political, not scientific.
+6
Level ∞
Aug 30, 2021
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_theory

"A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the natural world and universe that can be repeatedly tested and verified in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocols of observation, measurement, and evaluation of results."

Does this mean that all scientific theories are true? Not necessarily. But "theories" as you dismiss them, are supported by rigorous evidence. Plate tectonics is a "theory". The Earth revolving around the sun is a "theory". In terms of science, "theory" is a very high standard.

+6
Level 70
Sep 1, 2021
True, I think we should also remove the question about Earth being bigger than Mars because this is part of a political attempt to discredit Elon Musk's plan to colonise Mars by diminishing the size of the planet. Until we can get a tape measure long enough to measure around the edge of both planets it will also just be a theory, not a fact.
+2
Level 59
Dec 3, 2022
bruh
+1
Level 43
Dec 31, 2022
Yeah I was positive that it was volcanoes, if talking biggest effect on earth per year, as volcanoes can do more damage in a day than humans can.

Earth was melting before industrial era and always going to be changing no matter what we do, some things might be set in motion and have no clue.

Clearly burning anything in mass is bad idea, but think its more than just fossil fuels. Coal, aerosol, killing rain forests etc. I feel like answer should just be Humans.

+1
Level 32
May 9, 2023
Humans have single-handedly thrown the earth's natural cycle out of balance, as we are much hotter now than before humans have existed.
+2
Level 74
Mar 23, 2023
The world has moved on, friend.
+1
Level 65
Apr 16, 2023
There *are* Drop Bears and Kangaroos

They are waiting for us in remote trees

They eat the bones

How do we know?

Australia.

+1
Level 68
Aug 7, 2023
Don't include questions whose answers are a matter of current political controversy.
+4
Level 67
Aug 7, 2023
Why not? This is a science quiz. The scientific community is in overwhelming accord on the issue. Things usually become "political controversies" because opportunists, zealots, and craven politicians exploit them to drum up fervor among their supporters and separate them from their money. There are people out there who deny the Holocaust. If they gain political power, does it become inappropriate to acknowledge that the Holocaust happened? Are we only allowed to acknowledge something until some sleazy politician makes an issue of it? Politics often has nothing to do with reality. It should not be considered in a science quiz.
+1
Level 57
Aug 8, 2023
I got the telomere one because I remembered from Biology class that the telophase of the mitosis is the ending phase, so telo = end.
+1
Level 65
Aug 8, 2023
The climate change question is best removed from this quiz as it comes across as the quiz master endeavouring to make a political point rather than test scientific knowledge. "Since records began" is disingenuous as it ignores the oldest data that exists, which is ice core surveys. While it is probable CO2 has contributed toward temperature rises, it is far from certain it is the primary cause.
+1
Level 42
Aug 10, 2023
Isn't the temperature infinite? It could always be colder or hotter in other places in the galaxy. Maybe we also have more than one universe. Maybe we have millions. So it could be colder/hotter in those.
+2
Level ∞
Aug 10, 2023
No. Temperature is defined based on the vibration of particles. You can't have "negative" vibration so the temperature can't be below absolute zero.

I suppose there could be other places in the universe (or in a different universe) where concepts such as mathematics, logic, and cause and effect don't exist in the same way.

In which case the answer could be anything. But the answer to every question can be anything you want in that case.