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The Incredible Shrinking Science Quiz

Exposed to a mysterious form of radiation, you are getting smaller and smaller. Can you answer these ten questions about small things in science before you disappear completely?

A multiple-choice quiz by VickiSilver. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
VickiSilver

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
137,597

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
4728

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Soon you weigh only ten pounds. You are smaller than the smallest of all living apes. What ape is it? Hint

Orangutan

Gibbon

Bonobo

Chimpanzee

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Not much later you weigh only two ounces. You are smaller than the smallest living member of the order Carnivora. What animal is this? Hint

Short-tailed weasel

Ermine

Least weasel

Stoat

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Now you weight less than one-tenth of an ounce. You are as small as the smallest living mammal on Earth. What is it? Hint

Pygmy shrew

Bumblebee bat

Dormouse

Deer mouse

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Question 4 of 10

4. At this size, insects look big enough to be a threat to you. Which of the following is NOT an insect? Hint

Cockroach

Louse

Tick

Flea

5. Oops! You just got a lot smaller and fell into a drop of water. You can just barely see single-celled organisms all around you. Like you, they seem to be moving around at random. What effect is causing this erratic movement? Hint

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Priniciple

Newton's Laws of Inertia

Brownian Motion

Einstein's Theory of Relativity

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Question 6 of 10

6. Soon you are small enough to make out the individual shapes of the micro-organisms that share your tiny world. There goes one with a long, whip-like tail that it uses to move along. What is it? Hint

Plasmodium falciparum

Amoeba proteus

Trypanosome gambiense

Paramecium aurelia

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. You continue to shrink until you are the size of a virus. Which of the following diseases is NOT always caused by a virus? Hint

Mumps

Influenza

Measles

Dysentery

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. You become much, much smaller, until you can start to see individual molecules. Mixed in with all the water molecules surrounding you, you see a molecule which consists of a single carbon atom connected to three hydrogen atoms, and also connected to an oxygen atom, which is connected to another hydrogen atom. What substance is made up of these molecules? Hint

Benzene

Ethanol

Methanol

Acetone

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Next you find yourself smaller than an atom. You can see subatomic particles dashing madly about. Which one of the following particles is NOT found in ordinary atoms? Hint

Electron

Proton

Neutron

Positron

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Question 10 of 10

10. One last step down in size before you return to normal. Now you can see quarks, believed to be the components of neutrons, protons, and other particles. There are six kinds of quarks known to science, all with whimsical names. Which of the following is NOT a type of quark? Hint

Strange

Odd

Charm

Bottom

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Soon you weigh only ten pounds. You are smaller than the smallest of all living apes. What ape is it?

Answer: Gibbon

Gibbons weigh about fifteen or twenty pounds. The closely related siamang, sometimes considered a type of gibbon, can reach a weight of twenty-five pounds. The bonobo, sometimes known as the pygmy chimpanzee, weighs about eighty pounds. Chimpanzees can weigh more than one hundred pounds. Orangutans can weigh more than two hundred pounds.

2. Not much later you weigh only two ounces. You are smaller than the smallest living member of the order Carnivora. What animal is this?

Answer: Least weasel

The least weasel has a body about six or seven inches long, and only weighs about three ounces. The ermine, the stoat, and the short-tailed weasel are all names for the same animal. It has a body about ten inches long and weighs about seven ounces.

3. Now you weight less than one-tenth of an ounce. You are as small as the smallest living mammal on Earth. What is it?

Answer: Bumblebee bat

The bumbleebee bat is about one inch long and weighs less than one-tenth of an ounce. It has only been known to science since 1974. The pygmy shrew is just slightly bigger, weighing about one-tenth of an ounce. The dormouse and the deer mouse both weigh about an ounce.

4. At this size, insects look big enough to be a threat to you. Which of the following is NOT an insect?

Answer: Tick

Ticks, like spiders and scorpions, are arachnids, and have eight legs. Lice, fleas, and roaches are all insects, and have six legs.

Answer: Brownian Motion

In 1827, the English botanist Robert Brown noted that grains of pollen suspended in water moved around in a jagged path. Fifty years later it was discovered that this was caused by the impact of the molecules in the liquid hitting larger objects.

Answer: Trypanosome gambiense

All of the organisms listed are protozoa; that is, they are considered to be one-celled "animals" that ingest food instead of producing it themselves, like plants. Trypanosome gambiense, which causes sleeping sickness, is one of many micro-organisms which are able to move because of a "tail" known as a flagellum. Amoeba proteus moves by extending out temporary "feet" known as pseudopods. Paramecium aurelia has many short "hairs" known as cilia which allow it to move. Plasmodium falciparum, which causes malaria, has neither flagella nor cilia.

7. You continue to shrink until you are the size of a virus. Which of the following diseases is NOT always caused by a virus?

Answer: Dysentery

Dysentery is an inflammation of the intestine, characterized by diarrhea containing blood and mucus. It can be caused by a virus, but is usually caused by a type of bacteria known as shigella, or by an amoeba.

Answer: Methanol

Methanol, a poisonous substance also known as wood alcohol, is the simplest of all alcohol molecules. Ethanol, found in alcoholic beverages, contains one more carbon atom than methanol. Acetone is the simplest of the group of molecules known as ketones.

It contains a carbon atom connected by two bonds to an oxygen atom, and also connected to two more carbon atoms, each of which is connected to three hydrogen atoms. A benzene molecule consists of a ring of six carbon atoms, each of which is connected to a hydrogen atom.

9. Next you find yourself smaller than an atom. You can see subatomic particles dashing madly about. Which one of the following particles is NOT found in ordinary atoms?

Answer: Positron

All atoms of ordinary matter, except for hydogen, contain electrons, protons, and neutrons. A hydrogen atom has only a proton and an electron. A positron is the "opposite" of an electron, having a positive charge rather than a negative charge. In theory, an atom of antimatter would contain positrons instead of electrons.

Answer: Odd

The types of quarks are known as "flavors." In order of increasing mass, they are known as up, down, strange, charm, bottom, and top.

Source: Author VickiSilver

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