Patagona gigas is the largest species of which bird family, despite being just 20 cm (8 inches) long and weighing

only about 20 g (two-thirds of an ounce)? Answer: Question 2 Marks: 1 A technical term in geology introduced by Clarence Dutton and well known by Scrabble players, this type of lava forms when the viscosity of the lava and/or the strain rate of the flow is high forming fragmented, rough, sometimes spiny, or blocky surfaces. What is this word, which in Hawaiian means "stony rough lava"? Answer: Question 3 Marks: 1 One of the most-researched candidates for producing controlled thermonuclear fusion power, what name is given to a device using a magnetic field to confine a plasma in the shape of a torus (doughnut)? The devices were invented in the 1950s by Soviet physicists Igor Tamm and Andrei Sakharov Answer: Question 4 Marks: 1 This Italian economist and sociologist is best known for his principle that about 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. For instance he observed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. This principle, sometimes also called the law of the vital few or simply the 80-20 rule, and a related chart were named after him. What was his name? Answer: Question 5 Marks: 1 Its most infamous example being the HIV virus that causes AIDS, what general name is given to viruses in which the genetic information is stored as RNA (instead of DNA) and that copy this information into the DNA of the host cell, which is the opposite direction than in most genetic replications? Answer: Question 6 Marks: 1 Since a glue called birdlime was made from mistletoe berries and used for lime-twigs to catch birds, this term comes from the Latin name of the mistletoe. It is defined as the resistance of a fluid (liquid or gas) to a change in shape, or as the movement of neighbouring portions relative to one another, It also denotes opposition to flow. What is it? Answer: Question 7 Marks: 1

Carbon has a lot in common with what element right under it on the periodic table, so much so that science fiction imagines life forms based on it? Answer: Question 8 Marks: 1 This specific name is given to the nutritive tissue within the seeds of flowering plants that surrounds and nourishes the developing embryo. It is an important source of food for humans, as it is that part that is ground into flour for bread. It is also in barley, is the main source for beer production and forms the edible part of coconut and corn. What is it? Answer: Question 9 Marks: 1 High energy particles moving through a transparent material such as water make it glow. It is the light equivalent of a sonic boom, caused by the particles travelling faster than light in water. What name is given to this type of glow or radiation? Answer: Question 10 Marks: 1 The 15 elements of the lanthanide group plus scandium and yttrium are collectively known by what name? Answer: Question 11 Marks: 1 What popular name is given to the substance that is chemically written as D2O or HDO? Answer: Question 12 Marks: 1 What measure was originally derived from the distance "Earth's equator to the Pole divided by 10 million"? Answer: Question 13 Marks: 1 This climbing plant, originally native to S. Japan and SE China, is known for its incredible growing speed, up to 30cm a day. It found a very favorable climate in the southern US where it is a pest weed covering other vegetation earning the nickname the vine that killed the South. Its name derived from Japanese, which plant is this? Answer: Question 14 Marks: 1 It was named after a Scottish scientist of the 19th century but already described by Lucretius around 60 BC. In physics, what name is given to the continuous random movement of

microscopic particles suspended in a liquid or gas, clearly visible in particles of smoke in a gas? Answer: Question 15 Marks: 1 Until recently it was thought that there were 6 essential elements in every life form: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus. At the end of last year it was claimed that a bacteria, found in Californias Mono Lake was capable of replacing phosphorus in its cellular structure by which other element, more known for its poisonous properties? Marks: 1 Generated by radioactive decay & used in medical imaging, whats the antiparticle counterpart of the electron? Answer: Question 17 Marks: 1 The small volcanic island of Geirfuglasker was surrounded by cliffs making it inaccessible to humans. It was the last known refuge of Pinguinus impennis, called "geirfugl" by Icelanders. In an 1830 eruption the rock submerged, and the birds moved to the nearby island of Eldey. This was accessible to humans, from one side, and thus the creatures were sadly wiped out. Which bird?

Answer: Question 18 Marks: 1 One of the strangest living birds is a roughly pheasant-sized tropical bird with a long neck and small head found in swamps, riverine forest and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco deltas in South America. The young possess two large claws on each wing, a trait that has led some scientists to link the species with the fossil Archaeopteryx of the dinosaur era. Its digestive system ferments vegetation in the same was as that of a cow does. Which enigmatic bird?

Answer: Question 19 Marks: 1

The name of this cat-like animal from the genus Viverra is also the name of a waxy substance used as a fixative in the manufacture of perfume. The highly prized kopi luwak coffee variety is derived from beans that pass through its digestive system. This animal is also thought to transmit severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). What is this cat-like animal called?

Answer: Question 20 Marks: 1 DNA analyses shows that this breed of dog belongs to the group of most ancient breeds, directly descending from the first dogs. Which breed is considered a national treasure of Japan?

Answer: Question 21 Marks: 1 In 2005 the International Botanic Congress proposed splitting the genus and use the existing name for the Australian species only. This means an iconic tree of the African savanna (pictured) will have to be renamed Senegalia or Vachellia. Which large genus of trees was thus divided?

Answer: Question 22 Marks: 1 This family of rays is found in tropical coastal waters, although some species are known to enter fresh water. These fish are not especially aggressive and usually avoid contact with humans. However, it was a fish of this species that in 2006 caused the death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. What family of rays?

Answer: Question 23 Marks: 1

Libyan petroleum oil is amongst the best in the world because it is mostly 'light and sweet oil'. Light means it has low specific gravity. Sweet means it has less than 0.5% of what chemical element? Answer: Question 24 Marks: 1 This Canadian-American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist and linguist is also an author of several popular science books such as The Language Instinct (1994), How the Mind Works (1997), The Blank Slate (2002), and The Stuff of Thought (2007). He argues that language is an "instinct" or biological adaptation shaped by natural selection. Who is he?

Answer: Question 25 Marks: 1 At what temperature do the Celsius and the Fahrenheit scale meet? Put differently: there is one temperature x which is the same in degrees Celsius and in degrees Fahrenheit. Which? Answer: Question 26 Marks: 1 The two genera (Sorex and Blarina) of which animals were the first terrestrial mammals beside bats known to use echolocation? In contrast to bats, these animals use echolocation only to investigate their habitat. Answer: Question 27 Marks: 1 One of the most influential bodies of economic thought in recent times, which monetarist school takes its name and is associated with the economics department of a US university, especially during 1970s and particularly with Professor Milton Friedman? Answer: Question 28 Marks: 1 What is the term which relates mathematics to fine arts which can be defined where a+b is to a as a is to b, or more precisely 1 plus the square root of 5 divided by 2, an algebraic irrational number with a value of approximately 1.618034 which when used in art and architecture is considered aesthetically pleasing, and is also an approximation of the trend of the Fibonacci sequence? Answer: Question 29

Marks: 1 The litter of which mammals, which jump up in the air 1 meter when frightened, is unique because it always produces identical quadruplets? Answer: Question 30 Marks: 1 In 2009 Professor Elinor Ostrom, from Indiana University, became the first female winner of which Nobel prize category, jointly with another American, Professor Oliver Williamson? Answer: