Fun with Science Experiments

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Let's start off in the world of chemistry. If you mix sugar water and concentrated sulfuric acid in a beaker, a long, cylindrical tube of carbon will begin to grow. Vapor is also released. Based on your knowledge of the formula for sugar, what is this vapor? Carbon dioxide gas (CO2) Water vapor (H20) Nitrogen dioxide gas (NO2) Ammonia gas (NH3)

2. Another common and educational lab we did in chemistry is called a titration. If you gradually add an acid to a base (or vice versa), the solution will eventually reach an equivalence point. For titrations between a strong acid and a strong base, this solution will have a neutral pH of 7. If one of the reagents is weak, it will have a pH that is either slightly acidic of slightly basic. In order to tell where the equivalence point is, we use an acid-base indicator, which changes colors at certain pH levels. Which of the following is NOT an acid-base indicator? Methyl Green Phenolphthalein Bromothymol Blue Alizarine Yellow R

3. The next experiment is one that you can do at home, although it may require you to sacrifice a meter stick to science. If you lay the meter stick flat on the table with a bit sticking off the edge and then strike the end with your fist, you would of course expect the meter stick to flip off the table. However, if you cover the meter stick with just a little bit of newspaper and repeat the process, it breaks in two! Why is this? The air pressure acting on the newspaper is too great The friction between the meter stick and the newspaper is too great The weight of the newspaper is too great None of these

4. A very fun physics experiment that I once witnessed involves a certain object. This machine generates and harnesses static electricity, and allows you to have all sorts of fun with it! Touching the surface of the generator will cause your hair to stand on end, paper plates are attracted to it, and sparks will jump almost a foot away from it! What is the name of this fantastic machine? Tesla Coil Van de Graaff Generator Voltaic Pile Circuit Breaker

5. A very fun experiment we did in Chemistry involved a balloon, tanks of hydrogen and oxygen, and a Bunsen burner. Filling the balloon with the proper ratio of gases and then exposing it to the heat causes an explosion and a chemical reaction. Why do we need to apply heat to the balloon? The reaction would occur anyway; the flame just makes the explosion bigger The reaction only occurs in flame It provides the activation energy for the reaction It melts the balloon, exposing the gases to open air and causing them to react

6. On to biology, and the infamous dissection experiment. In my biology class, we had the opportunity to dissect a fetal pig. What chemical compound serves as the base ingredient for the fluid that keeps the fetal pig fresh so that I might dissect it? Monosodium glutamate Formaldehyde Ethanol Phenolphthalein

7. This next tidbit is not so much an experiment as an observation. If you pour water into a graduated cylinder made of glass, the meniscus (top surface of the water) curves downward. However, if you pour that same water into a graduated cylinder made of plastic, the meniscus reverses itself and curves upward! This is due to what property of molecules? Electronegativity Hybridization Electron affinity Polarity

8. Here's a neat little experiment you can do at home. Mix up an ice bath with ice and salt, and it will melt into ice water. Next, take a bottle of ordinary club soda and dunk it into the bath. Remarkably, the soda does not freeze. What happens when you shake up the bottle and remove the cap of the soda? The soda will freeze Nothing will happen The soda will immediately rise in temperature The ice bath will freeze

9. An area of chemistry and physics that interests me greatly is gas laws. One such law, Boyle’s Law, can be demonstrated through an experiment that I once performed. The lab instructor provided us with a large, sealed syringe attached to a barometer, which measured the pressure. This apparatus was hooked up to a computer, which registered the pressure. When the volumes were typed in, the computer graphed the two values. What relationship should we expect between the pressure and the volume of a gas? Direct Inverse Parabolic Hyperbolic

10. On our last day of the year, chemistry teacher let us light our hands on fire! She created soap bubbles filled with methane, which we scooped up and brought to a Bunsen burner. What safety precautions should be followed when attempting this? Wet your arm up to the elbow Have teacher supervision Do not wear loose clothing or long sleeves All of these