ROUND 1
1. Name the band of muscle that controls the entrance to the duodenum from the
stomach.
ANSWER: Pyloric sphincter
2. Food moves down the esophagus by rhythmic muscular contraction called
ANSWER: Peristalsis
3. Name the ion that is secreted into the small intestine by the pancreas to neutralize
stomach acid
ANSWER: Bicarbonate
4. Define electron affinity of an atom
ANSWER: The energy lost or gained
5. Define electronegativity of an atom.
ANSWER: It is a measure of the ability of an atom to attract an electron to
itself
6. Electronegativity of carbon is 2.5. What is the electronegativity of neon?
ANSWER: Zero/0
7. Which of the following can be used for food irradiation without danger to consumers: alpha
particles, beta particles, gamma particles, thermal neutrons
ANSWER: Gamma
8. Which of the following can be accomplished with nuclear radiation: sterilization, inspection
of materials, and determination of material composition?
ANSWER: All
9. Name the nuclear reaction responsible for energy generation in the sun.
ANSWER: Fusion
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Factorise the expression
10. 49x2 – 81y2
ANSWER: (7x – 9y)(7x + 9y) (difference of two squares
11. (a2/4 – b2/9)
ANSWER: (a/2 – b/3)(a/2 + b/3)
12. 9x2/4 – 16y2/25
ANSWER: (3x/2 – 4y/5)(3x/2 + 4y/5)
13. In which part of the leaf are phloem and xylem located?
ANSWER: Veins
14. Sieve tube members are found in the nutrient-conducting tissue called
ANSWER: Phloem
15. Fibres and sclereids types of which plant cells.
ANSWER: Sclerenchyma
16. Give the systematic name for an alkane of 11 carbons in a straight chain.
ANSWER: Undecane
17. How many alkanols can be derived from a straight chain of 8 carbons? Name any two
ANSWER: 4, Octan-1-ol/1-octanol; 2-ol; 3-ol; 4-ol
18. Give the systematic name of a symmetrical alkanone of 9 carbons in a straight chain.
ANSWER: 5-Nonanone
19. A battery has an electromotive force of 8 V and an internal resistance of . What is the
terminal voltage of the battery when it supplies a current of ?
ANSWER: 7.6 V
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20. A battery has an electromotive force of 8 V and an internal resistance of . At what
current will the battery supply maximum power to a load?
ANSWER: 40 A
21. The terminal voltageof a battery is 9 V when it supplies 1 A and 8 V when it supplies 2 A.
What is the internal resistance of the battery?
ANSWER:
and imply
A number is chosen from the set of numbers S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}.
Find the probability
22. The number is even
ANSWER: 4/9 [ A = {2, 4, 6, 8}, P(A) = n(A)/n(S) = 4/9 ]
23. The number is a prime number
ANSWER: 4/9 [ B = {2, 3, 5, 7} , P(B) = n(B) /n(S) = 4 /9 ]
24. The number is odd and greater than 4
ANSWER: 3/9 or 1/3 [ C = {5, 7, 9}, P(C ) = n(C ) /n(S) = 3/9 = 1/3 ]
25. Name the cells that make up the cortical tissues in plants.
ANSWER: Parenchyma
26. What name is given to the openings that lie between guard cells?
ANSWER: Stomata
27. Name the principal water conducting tissue in plants
ANSWER: Xylem
28. Why is it that the Theory that explains the behavior of matter, especially gases, is
called Kinetic Theory of Matter?
ANSWER: Matter is perceived to consist of small particles in constant
motion
29. Why are gases able to assume the shape of their container?
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ANSWER: Gaseous molecules/atoms are in constant motion in all
directions.
30. Why does a given volume of a fixed mass of gas increase with an increase in
temperature?
ANSWER: The heating increases the average speed of the particles which
are able to strike the walls of the container with greater
energy.
31. An ideal transformer has primary-to-secondary turns ratio 50:1. Determine the secondary
voltage when the input voltage is 100 V.
ANSWER: 2 V
32. An ideal transformer has primary-to-secondary turns ratio 50:1. Determine the input current
when the secondary current is 500 mA.
ANSWER: 10 mA
33. An ideal transformer has primary-to-secondary turns ratio 50:1. Determine the input power
required to sustain a secondary current of 200 mA when the input voltage is 20 V.
ANSWER: 80 mW
Secondary voltage is and power is .
34. Find the coordinates of the point A(2, -5) under a rotation through 180 degrees about
the origin.
ANSWER: (-2, 5)
35. Find the coordinates of the point B(-4, 0) under clockwise rotation through 90 degrees
about the origin.
ANSWER: (0, 4)
36. Find the coordinates of the point C(0, -4) under a counter-clockwise rotation through
90 degrees about the origin.
ANSWER: (4, 0)
37. If one comes across a population of plants and realizes a high level of homozygosity,
what would one predict about their mating system?
ANSWER: They are predominantly self-fertilizing
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38. What is the key advantage of multicellularity in organisms?
ANSWER: It allows the formation of specialized cells.
39. During fermentation, yeasts are able to convert pyruvate to what molecule.
ANSWER: Ethanol
40. Consider the reaction
A + B → C + D.
If the enthalpies of formation of A, B, C and D are -800, -950, -1,100 and -750
kJmol-1 respectively calculate the enthalpy of reaction.
ANSWER: Δrxn = ΣΔf(products) - ΣΔf(reactants)
= (-1100 + -750) - (-800 + -750)
= -1850 + 1750 = -100 kJmol-1
41. Carbon II oxide burns in air to give carbon IV oxide. If the enthalpy of reaction is -
280 kJmol-1and the enthalpy of formation of carbon IV oxide is -400 kJmol-1.calculate
the enthalpy of formation of carbon II oxide.
ANSWER: -280 = -400 - -280
= -400 + 280 = -120 kJmol-1
42. Calculate the enthalpy of condensation of gaseous HCN if the enthalpies of formation
of liquid HCN and gaseous HCN are 105 kJmol-1 and 134 kJmol-1 respectively.
ANSWER: HCNg → HCNl
134 105
Δcond = 105 - 134 = -29 kJmol-1
43. Determine the charge on a 5 nF capacitor charged to 500 V.
ANSWER:
5
44. Determine the energy stored in a 5 nF capacitor charged to 500 V.
ANSWER: or
45. Determine the time the voltage on a 5 nF capacitor in parallel with a resistor will
fall by half.
ANSWER:
Evaluate the numerical expression:
46. 1212 - 212
ANSWER: 14,200 [ 1212 – 212 = (121 – 21)(121+21) = 100(142) = 14,200]
47. 852 – 152
ANSWER: [ (85 – 15)(85 + 15) = 70(100) = 7,000]
48. 732 - 232
ANSWER: [(73 – 23)(73 + 23) = 50(96)= 4,800]
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PROBLEM OF THE DAY
a. State the first law of thermodynamics.
b. A heat engine operating on a closed cycle absorbs 10 kJ of heat from a heat
source and rejects 4 kJ of heat every minute. Determine the power output and
thermal efficiency of the engine.
SOLUTION:
a. The change in internal energy of a system equals the heat absorbed by the system
less the work done by the system: .
b. The work done in one minute is . The power output is
The thermal efficiency .
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ROUND 3 – True or False
1. In general carnivores have longer digestive system than herbivores ANSWER:
False
2. In mammals, the urogenital products are separated from faecal matter in the small
intestine
ANSWER: False – Large intestine
3. Single celled organisms digest their food intracellularly
ANSWER: True
4. Trichomes are outgrowths of epidermal cells
ANSWER: True
5. Root hairs are extension of single epidermal cells
ANSWER: True
6. Guard cells are paired cells
ANSWER: True
7. J. J. Thompson’s experiment led to the discovery of an electron
ANSWER: T
8. Electrons in higher energy levels require higher energy to ionize them.
ANSWER: F
9. Pauling’s Exclusion Principle states that an orbital can accommodate only 2 electrons
ANSWER: F (The actual statement is that no two electrons in an atom can
have the same energy)
10. Carbolic acid is another name for aromatic carboxylic acids
ANSWER: F It is another name for phenol
11. Urea which occurs in our urine formed from the breakdown of proteins.
ANSWER: T
12. The functional group in urea is the amino group.
ANSWER: F (The amide group)
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13. Angular momentum is conserved when net torque is zero.
ANSWER: True
14. A body is in mechanical equilibrium when the net force on it is zero.
ANSWER: False
15. Linear momentum is conserved when net force is not zero.
ANSWER: False
16. If two bodies are in thermal equilibrium and one of them is in thermal equilibrium with a
third body, then all three are in thermal equilibrium.
ANSWER: True
17. A saturated vapour is in equilibrium with its liquid.
ANSWER: True
18. Longitudinal waves can be polarized.
ANSWER: False
19. The sum of the external angles of any polygon is four right angles
ANSWER: TRUE
20. The interior angle of a regular quadrilateral is a straight angle
ANSWER: FALSE
21. The diagonals of a rectangle bisect each other perpendicularly
ANSWER: FALSE
22. An isosceles triangle fits its outline in two positions
ANSWER: TRUE
23. An equilateral triangle has three axes of symmetry
ANSWER: TRUE
24. In a kite, the shorter diagonal bisects the two angles at its ends
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ANSWER: FALSE
ROUND 4 – Riddles
Riddle #1
1. My origins can be traced to nature and natural processes.
2. I am very, very old.
3. I am part of a brownish to black liquid mixture mined from underground.
4. During fractional distillation of the mineral, I am collected between 68oC and
168oC.
5. I am usually given an octane rating
6. You can call me Mr. G or Miss P
WHO AM I?
ANSWER: GASOLINE/PETROL
Riddle #2
1. I am flagellated and flexible freshwater organism
2. I am unicellular and free-living
3. I am characterized as having both animal-like and plantlike characteristics
4. My body is spindle-shaped with rounded anterior and pointed posterior end
5. In spite of the presence of a mouth, I also possess chlorophyll that makes me appear
green in colour
6. I belong to the phylum Euglenophyta.
WHO AM I?
ANSWER: Euglena
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Riddle #3
1. I am an optical device.
2. I form images.
3. My images are real and inverted.
4. I form equally sharp images of objects near and far.
5. I used to be called camera obscura.
6. You know me by my hole.
WHO AM I?
ANSWER: Pinhole camera
Riddle #4
1. I am a property appropriate for comparing two geometric figures.
2. Equality is not widely applicable so forget about congruence.
3. Two figures have me if they have the same shape but different sizes.
4. Two polygons have me if their corresponding angles are equal and corresponding
sides are proportional.
5. For triangles, it is sufficient for two triangles to be either equiangular, or
corresponding sides to be in the same ratio.
WHO AM I?
ANSWER: SIMILARITY
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