CONTEST 37

ROUND 1
1. Name any three Greenhouse gases.
ANSWER: CO2, methane, nitrogen (I) oxide (N2O), water vapour, and ozone
2. Explain how the Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming
ANSWER: They serve as a blanket around the earth, preventing heat of the sun reflected from
the surface of the earth from escaping into the atmosphere.
3. Name the major sources of methane in the atmosphere.
ANSWER: (i) From petroleum mines
(ii) Oil refineries
(iii) Decomposition of organic materials
4. PREAMBLE: Mention one of the main types of organisms classified as micro-organisms.
ANSWERS:
a) viruses,
b) bacteria,
c) protozoa (protista),
d) some fungi
e) some algae.
PREAMBLE: Evaluate the given limit.

5. [(x – 1)/(x – 1)(x + 3) = 1/(x + 3) → 1/(1+3) = ¼]

ANSWER: ¼

6. [(x + 2)(x + 1)/(x + 2) = (x + 1) → (-2 + 1) = -1]

ANSWER: -1

7. [(x – 2)/(x – 2)(x – 1) = 1/(x – 1) →1/(2 – 1) = 1]

ANSWER: 1

PREAMBLE: The International Space Station (ISS) orbits Earth in a circular orbit at ay,

that is, . The mean radius of the earth is and its mass is . The

mass of the moon is and its orbital radius is .

8. What is the approximate orbital radius of the ISS about the earth?

ANSWER:

9. A re-supply mission to the ISS delivered a payload. What is the change in gravitational potential

energy of the payload from launch pad to space station?

ANSWER:

10. An orbit adjustment manoeuvre of the ISS was conducted in 2015 with the aid of the Progress spacecraft

engines which resulted in an orbit lift by to above Earth. What was the approximate final

orbital speed upon completion of the manoeuvre?

ANSWER:

11. Define the state of chemical equilibrium.

ANSWER: The state reached by a reaction when the rate of forward reaction is equal to that of
the reverse reaction
12. Under what condition will the forward and reverse steps of an equilibrium reaction have the same
activation energy?
ANSWER: When ΔH of the reaction is about zero
13. A reversible reaction proceeds and after say 1 or 2 hours, there is no change in the concentration of
the reactants and products. What conclusion may one draw from this observation?
ANSWER: The reaction has reached an equilibrium
14. Why do electron microscopes have a much higher resolution than either the human eye or any light
microscope?
ANSWER: Because of the very short (nanometer) wavelengths of electrons.
15. How do images produced by the scanning electron microscope differ from those produced by the
transmission electron microscope?
ANSWER: The scanning electron microscope gives a three dimensional image of the object
being studied.
16. What information is provided by the ratio of the size of the image seen with the microscope to the
actual size of the object?
 ANSWER: Magnification
PREAMBLE: Consider the following geometric figures;
A) Parallelogram, B) Rhombus, C) Rectangle, D) Square
17. In which of these figures are the diagonals congruent and perpendicular?
ANSWER: Square
18. In which of these figures do the diagonals bisect each other but are not perpendicular?
ANSWER: PARALLELOGRAM and RECTANGLE
19. In which of these figures do the diagonals bisect each other but are not congruent?
ANSWER: RHOMBUS and PARALLELOGRAM

PREAMBLE: The spectrum of solar radiation has peak intensity at a wavelength of about .

20. What is the magnitude of the linear momentum of a photon with the wavelength of peak solar intensity?

ANSWER:

21. What is the energy required to accelerate an electron from rest to a speed at which its de Broglie wavelength
is the wavelength of peak solar intensity?

ANSWER:

22. Radiation with wavelength equal to the wavelength of peak solar intensity is needed for a sensitive
observation in which the energy deposited on the target must be minimized. How much energy can be
deposited by each particle in a proton beam?

ANSWER:

23. Calculate the pKb of a weak base if its 0.10 moldm-3 solution has a pH of 10.6.
ANSWER: pOH = 14 - 10.6 = 3.4
pOH = ½ pKb - ½ log Cb
1.4 = ½ pKb + 0.5
pKb = 2 (3.4 - 0.5) = 5.8
24. Calculate the pH of a 0.10 moldm-3 solution of sodium salt of a weak acid whose pKa = 4.76 and give
your answer to 2 places of decimal.
ANSWER: pKb of conjugate base = 14 - pKa = 9.24
pOH = ½ * 9.24 - ½ log 0.1 = 5.12
pH = 14 - 5.12 = 8.88
25. Calculate the pH of a solution of a weak acid prepared by diluting 20 cm 3 of a stock solution of 0.50
moldm-3 to 100 cm3. The pKa of the acid is 4.90.
ANSWER: Dilution is 20 cm3 to 100 cm3 hence 1 in 5; concentration = 0.10 moldm-3
pH = ½ pKa - ½ log Ca
= 4.9/2+ 0.5
= 2.95
PREAMBLE: Explain how the following features appear in an etiolated plant.
26. Shoot internodes
ANSWER: They become elongated and thin
27. Leaves of dicotyledonous plants
ANSWER: The remain small and unexpanded
28. Chloroplast of the leaves
ANSWER: They fail to develop
PREAMBLE: The functions f and g are given by f(x) = 2x + 1 and g(x) = 1/x. Evaluate.
29. g(f(2))
ANSWER: 1/5 [f(2) = 5, g(5) = 1/5]
30. f(g(2))
ANSWER: 2 [g(2) = ½ , f(1/2) = 1 + 1 = 2
31. g(f(0))
ANSWER: 1 [ f(0) = 1, g(1) = 1]

32. Find the frequency of sound waves with a wavelength of in an alloy with Young modulus

and density .

ANSWER:

33. A type of glass has a Young modulus of and a density of . What is the

wavelength of sound waves with a frequency of propagating in the glass?

ANSWER:
34. An ultrasonic generator sets up standing waves in a rod of length . Find the frequency of the

fundamental mode if the Young modulus of the rod is and its density is .

ANSWER:
 ROUND 2 - SPEED ROUND

1. If a couple is planning on having two children, what is the probability that both will be male?
ANSWER: ¼ (25%)
2. A brown-eyed couple already has a child with blue eyes. What is the probability that their next child
will have blue eyes, assuming that the gene for brown eye is dominant and that of blue eyes is
recessive?
ANSWER: ¼ (25%)
3. A couple is planning on having three children, what is the probability that only one will be male?
ANSWER: 3/8
4. Factorise completely x3 – 27.
ANSWER: (x – 3)(x2 + 3x + 9)
5. Find the natural number a if (x2 + ax + 49) is an exact square.
ANSWER: a = 14 [ (x + 7)2 = x2 + 14x + 49, hence a = 14 ]
6. If tanx = 1, evaluate (sec2x – tan2 x).
ANSWER: 1 [trigonometric identity]

7. A projectile is launched at an angle above the horizontal from the top of a tower of height . What

must be the launch angel above the horizontal so that the projectile falls farthest from the top of the
tower for a given launch speed?

ANSWER:

This is just the well-known result. The optimal launch angle for maximum range from the foot of the

tower is and tends to zero as tower height is increased at fixed launch

speed .

8. What is the ideal efficiency of a heat engine operating on the Otto cycle using a special fuel with a heat

capacity ratio of which allows a compression ratio of ?

ANSWER:

9. A cylinder contains a mixture of two diatomic gases in a ratio of . At what temperature is the total

internal energy of the mixture minimum?

ANSWER: Or absolute zero, but not zero degrees (= or for example).

10. State the oxidation state of lead in the compound Pb2O(OH)2.

 ANSWER: +2
11. State the oxidation state of iodine in Na4I2O9.
ANSWER: +7
12. State the oxidation state of carbon in NaCN.
ANSWER: +2
 PROBLEM OF THE DAY

While traveling on a school bus, Kofi designs a simple experiment to estimate

the acceleration of the bus when it moves on a level road: Hang a mass at

one end of an inextensible string and attach the other end to the ceiling of the

bus; then observe the angle the string makes with the vertical as the bus

moves.

a) What can be inferred concerning the motion of the bus if it is observed

that the string is vertical as the bus moves on a level road?

b) In what direction, forward toward the front of the bus or backward

toward the rear, does the string lean when the bus accelerates and picks

up speed on a level road?

c) Draw an appropriate free-body diagram for the mass when the bus

moves in the direction on a level road with acceleration .

d) Determine the tangent of the angle the string makes with the vertical

when the acceleration of the bus is . Hence state the acceleration of

the bus in terms of the tangent.

 e) Determine the tension in the string in terms of the mass , the

acceleration of the bus, and the acceleration due to gravity .

SOLUTION

a) The acceleration of the bus is zero (or the net force on the bus is zero).
b) Backward toward the rear.
c)

d) The forces on the mass are the tension and the weight . Since the bus

is accelerating in the direction, the net force on the mass is in that direction

and, by Newton’s second law, we have . There is equilibrium in the

vertical direction, so the net force component in that direction is zero.
Resolving each of the forces in the vertical direction and imposing the
equilibrium condition gives

The horizontal components give

 Divide the second equation by the first to obtain . So we have

e) From the equations in d), we get .

ROUND 4

TRUE OR FALSE

1. The information carried by DNA is incorporated in a code specified by the number of separate strands
of DNA.
ANSWER: False
2. The main reason scientists thought that proteins, rather than DNA, were the carriers of genetic
material in the cell was the large number of possible amino acid combinations.
ANSWER: True
3. The two molecules that alternate to form the backbone of a polynucleotide chain are Adenine and
Thymine.
ANSWER: False
4. At room temperature, the valence band of an intrinsic semiconductor is completely filled whereas its
conduction band is partially filled.
ANSWER: False
5. At absolute zero, the valence band of a semiconductor is completely filled whereas its conduction
band is partially filled.
ANSWER: False
6. The forbidden band in a semiconductor is of such a width as to permit electrons at room temperature
to gain enough thermal energy and jump from the valence band to the conduction band.
ANSWER: True
7. When two vectors are perpendicular, their scalar product is 1.
ANSWER: False
8. When two vectors are parallel, their scalar product is zero.
 ANSWER: False
9. When two vectors are parallel, one is a scalar multiple of the other.
ANSWER: True
10. The precipitate formed when H2S gas is bubbled through a solution of Fe2+ is black.
ANSWER: True
11. The precipitate formed when H2S gas is bubbled through a solution of Cu2+ is black.
ANSWER: True
12. When H2S is bubbled through a solution containing only Zn2+ ions no precipitate is formed.
ANSWER: False A white precipitate of ZnS s formed
13. Enzymes are important biological catalysts because they supply the energy to initiate a biochemical
reaction.
ANSWER: False
14. Enzymes are important biological catalysts because they increase the free energy of a biochemical
reaction
ANSWER: False

15. Enzymes are important biological catalysts because they lower the activation energy of a biochemical
reaction.
ANSWER: True
16. Thermal neutrons are high temperature neutrons produced in controlled fission reactions.
ANSWER: False
17. A moderator in a thermonuclear reactor operates by preferentially absorbing non-thermal neutrons,
thereby creating an excess thermal neutron population.
ANSWER: False
18. Thermal neutrons in thermonuclear reactors transport heat which is extracted in a heat exchanger to
raise steam for running the turbines that generate electricity.
ANSWER: False
PREAMBLE: In the following, a, b and c are natural numbers.
19. If a divides b, then the gcd of a and b is a.
ANSWER: True
20. If a divides b, then the Lcm of a and b is b.
ANSWER: True
21. If a divides b, and a divides c, then b divides c.
ANSWER: False
22. Butanol and methanoic acid are the two reactants required to prepare the ester, methyl butanoate.
ANSWER: False Butanol and methanoic acid will form butyl methanoate
23. The amino acid alanine with the formula CH3CH(NH2)COOH will show stereoisomerism.
ANSWER: True It has an asymmetric carbon
24. Glucose and fructose are stereoisomers.
ANSWER: False They are functional group isomers
 ROUND 5
RIDDLES
RIDDLE 1
1. I am a transparent object.
2. Which can carry radiation over very long distances?
3. I have a very small transverse dimension,
4. With optical properties that vary outward from the centre.
5. In one embodiment, I am called step index because refractive index in the central portion is
slightly larger than refractive index in the surrounding cladding.
Who am I?

ANSWER: Optical fiber

RIDDLE 2

1. I am the point of intersection of the medians to a triangle.

2. I am a useful point of concurrency, especially in Physics.
3. For a thin uniform triangular plate, I am the center of mass of the triangle.
4. Such a triangular plate can be balanced at me.
5. I am often referred to as a center of gravity.
Who am I?

ANSWER: Centroid
RIDDLE 3

1. I am a sub–class of a broad class of reactions in chemistry.

2. I am quite often cited in connection with organic reactions.
3. I usually proceed through polar intermediates.
4. At the end of the reaction, careful inspection will reveal a new comer in the reactant molecule
with concurrent departure of some unit of the reactant.
5. In my sub–class of the reaction type, each reaction is initiated by a species with an electron pair.
6. The reaction of a primary-alkylhalide with the hydroxide ion is a typical example of me.
Who am I?

ANSWER: Nucleophilic Substitution Reaction

RIDDLE 4
1. I am a porous tissue consisting of cells with large intercellular spaces.
2. I am found as raised circular, oval, or elongated areas on stems and roots.
3. My shape is one of the characteristics used for tree identification.
4. My formation usually begins beneath stomatal complexes during primary growth preceding the
development of the first periderm.
5. I am also present on many fruits, quite noticeably on many apples and pears.
6. I function as a pore, providing a pathway for the direct exchange of gases between the internal
tissues and atmosphere through the bark.
Who am I?

ANSWER: Lenticel(s)