MACC/SWAC Science Questions
Please Read Aloud: All of the questions in this match are 5-second questions, unless otherwise
noted.
This is the first directed question for team A.
1A.
What type of symmetry does a flatworm have? Begin (bilateral)
This is the first directed question for team B.
1B.
What principle says that an atomic orbital can hold at most two electrons? Begin (Pauli
Exclusion)
This is the second directed question for team A. You have 20 seconds to answer this question.
2A.
If the half-life of a strontium isotope is 28 years, what percentage of a sample of this isotope
will remain undecayed at the end of 112 years? Begin (6.25)
This is the second directed question for team B.
2B.
What types of chemicals are used to transmit a nerve impulse across a synapse to another
cell? Begin (neurotransmitter)
This is the third directed question for team A.
3A.
What is the maximum number of electrons that can go into a 4p sublevel? Begin (6)
This is the third directed question for team B.
3B.
What unit of power can be measured as 745.7 watts per minute or 33,000 foot-pounds per
minute? Begin (horsepower)
This is the fourth directed question for team A.
4A.
What is the height of a light wave from zero to the top of the crest? Begin (amplitude)
This is the fourth directed question for team B.
4B.
What star is at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper? Begin (Polaris or the North Star)
This is the fifth directed question for team A. You have 20 seconds to answer this question.
5A.
What is the molecular mass of Sulfur trioxide in grams? Begin (80)
This is the fifth directed question for team B.
5B.
What knob-shaped organ containing hooks and suckers is found on the anterior end of a
tapeworm? Begin (scolex)
MACC/SWAC Science Questions Page 2
This is the sixth directed question for team A.
6A.
What are the three layers of connective tissue that wrap the human brain and spinal cord?
Begin (meninges)
This is the sixth directed question for team B. You have 20 seconds to answer this question.
6B.
What is the molar mass of 3 moles of sodium chloride in grams? Begin (176 or 177)
This is the seventh directed question for team A.
7A.
During what month is the Earth closes to the Sun? Begin (January)
This is the seventh directed question for team B.
7B.
What is the maximum number of electrons that can go into a 5s sublevel? Begin (2)
This is the eighth directed question for team A.
8A.
What is the boundary of a black hole, the point of no return called? Begin (event horizon)
This is the eighth directed question for team B.
8B.
What is the SI unit of cycles per second called? Begin (hertz)
This is the ninth directed question for team A.
9A.
What class of compounds is obtained by replacing the hydrogen atoms of hydrocarbons
with chlorine and fluorine atoms? Begin (chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs)
This is the ninth directed question for team B.
9B.
What is the point on a planet’s orbit when it is farthest from the Sun called? Begin
(aphelion)
This is the tenth and final directed question for team A.
10A.
What rule states that electrons occupy orbitals of the same energy in a way that makes the
number of electrons with the same spin as large as possible? Begin (Hund’s)
This is the tenth and final directed question for team B. You have 20 seconds to answer this
question.
10B.
65 degrees Celsius equals how many degrees Fahrenheit? Begin (149)
That ends the portion of the match with directed questions. Coaches, if you have any team
member substitutions, please send those team members to the stage at this time. (Note:
Allow time for substitutes to be seated, introduce substitute team members.)
MACC/SWAC Science Questions Page 3
No form of conferring is allowed during the tossup portion of the match. Conferring includes
sharing of written or verbal information or signals. Please remove all written material
from you team tables. Writing is not permitted during tossup rounds, except in the math
round.
We will now have ten tossup questions. Remember, the person who buzzes in must give the
answer immediately. Please wait until I recognize the team before you give an answer. The
penalty for buzzing in early and giving a wrong answer is minus 2 points, and the question
will then be reread in its entirety to the other team.
This is the first tossup question.
1.
A column on the periodic table is called a what? Begin (group or family)
This is the second tossup question.
2.
What does the name acoelomates mean? Begin (without a hollow)
This is the third tossup question.
3.
What is the term for a diagram, in the shape of a figure-eight, showing the declination of
the Sun every day for a year? Begin (analemma)
This is the fourth tossup question.
4.
What medical condition results from an iodine deficiency and results in a swollen thyroid
gland? Begin (goiter)
This is the fifth tossup question.
5.
Which of the three patterns of reproduction for reptiles involves no shell being formed
around the eggs and the young held within the mother’s body until they are mature enough
to be born? Begin (ovoviviparity or ovoviviparous)
This is the sixth tossup question.
6.
What German geophysicist proposed the theory of continental drift? Begin (Alfred
Wegener)
This is the seventh tossup question.
7.
What general class of drugs includes tetracycline, streptomycin and penicillin? Begin
(antibiotics)
This is the eighth tossup question.
8.
Whose law states, “As the Kelvin temperature of an enclosed gas increases, the volume
increases, if the pressure is constant.”? Begin (Charles’ Law)
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This is the ninth tossup question.
9.
What is the scientific study of rocks called? Begin (Petrology)
This is the tenth and final tossup question.
(Emcee note – if match is tied after this question go to the three tie breakers at the end of these
questions – use all three, even if tie is broken on first or second question!)
10.
What type of drugs mimic the male hormone testosterone and build up muscle mass
creating devastating side effects? Begin (steroids or anabolic steroids)
(SWAC Emcees only – Ask if there are any appeals)
EMERGENCY QUESTIONS (To be used in an emergency only –DO NOT USE AS EXTRA TIE
BREAKERS – but they can be used in place of tie breakers as they would be used if a
question has a mistake, if the emcee “flubs” a question, etc.):
You have 5 seconds to answer this question.
1.
What type of muscle straightens a joint? Begin (extensor)
You have 5 seconds to answer this question.
2.
What are the two ions that make up water? Begin (Hydrogen or hydronium and
hydroxide)
TIE BREAKERS(To be used in cases of tie games – use all three questions, even if the tie is
broken with the first or second question; in case teams are still tied at the end of these
three questions – the game remains a tie.):
This is the first tiebreaker question.
1.
What type of succession of communities begins on a new barren substrate--one devoid of
life—such as newly exposed bedrock, a sand dune, or a new glacial lake? Begin (primary)
This is the second tiebreaker question.
2.
What is the area of the beach between the high and low tide waterlines called? Begin
(intertidal or intertidal zone)
This is the third tiebreaker question.
3.
What types of animals are in the class Trematoda? Begin (flukes)