How long did it take you to figure out that the "previous" button actually worked?
Posted on 12/10/2011 7:19:01 PM PST by chessplayer
You may have an opinion on climate change, evolution education, stem-cell research, and science funding. But do you have the facts to back up your opinion? This quiz will test your basic scientific literacy.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
I got 44/50. Never read Finnegan’s Wake, got that one right.
Got 41. Thought it was pretty good considering the wide-ranging field of questions.
“Wow. I scored 64%!”
That and chemistry. Part of that, I blame on Mary Sue, 5th class, 8th grade. Hard to concentrate on chemistry, when all you are thinking about is biology. ;)
/johnny
You didn’t have to read Finnegan’s Wake to answer that question. You just had to know the date it was written and when the particles mentioned were discovered.
That question was element-ary my dear. Pun intended. ;-)
What hath past postal stamp issuage to do with literacy?
Looking back? How did you do on the greek roots?
I had to run down the list to get the nano = e-10 question. And that was one of the greek ones I got right.
The latin questions were easy.
I may need to obey grandfather and study my greek a little better.
/johnny
How long did it take you to figure out that the "previous" button actually worked?
48 - 50
But I do remember a Discovery documentary that explained where quark came from. ;)
/johnny
Questions about the elements were often given away with the atomic number. A lot of lower level chemistry classes involved memorizing the first part of the periodic table.
Some of the others, like the brontosaurus and Eris questions were more like science news. “BTW, we’ve decided to change an arbitrary designation for a different one that we like better, and wonder if you heard.”
Personally, I would have thrown in a question about the scientific method, and another one on what must be involved for a theory to be judged as “scientific”.
The postal stamp thing was a 'look here' handwave. The real question was about thundering dinosaurs. Tyra? no...that's a politician that's going to dry-**** you. Tri-cerito? Three horns... nope...
Bronto? Ah... perhaps.
That was one of the ancient language questions I got correct.
/johnny
72% for me.
Some famous physicist, I think it might have been Rutherford, famously said “all science is either physics or stamp collecting,” meaning, those other sciences not physics were just learning about a bunch of different unrelated facts and names, like so many stamps on a page. There are 21 amino acids and 92 elements and three types of rocks, etc.; collect them all and study them, but in any case it isn’t physics, the only “real science” (was his dismissive implication). Depending on how wide your reading has been, you will have come across them or not, and you will know how to answer most of these questions or you will not.
/johnny
/johnny
I must admit that I’m fascinated by quantum theory.
46/50 correct
3/50 I knew but pushed the wrong darn button (I was flying!).
2/50 I guessed lucky.
1/50 I guessed unlucky.
Most of this stuff I remembered from high school and college 30 years ago.
Anyone know what the percentiles are?
39/50. But then again, it’s late and I have been drinking ...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.