ROUND 10

TOSS-UP

1) CHEMISTRY Short Answer What is the most reduced symmetry operation symbol for a
molecule that has a rotation angle of 240°?

ANSWER: C 3 2

BONUS

1) CHEMISTRY Short Answer How many translational, rotational, and vibrational modes,
respectively, are there for the molecule beryllium fluoride?

ANSWER: TRANSLATIONAL = 3; ROTATIONAL = 2; VIBRATIONAL = 4

TOSS-UP

2) MATH Short Answer Find the sum of the two solutions for the quadratic equation:
2x2 – 4x + 8 = 0.

ANSWER: 2

BONUS

𝑥 5 − 32
2) MATH Short Answer Find the following limit: lim𝑥→2 [the limit as x approaches 2 of
𝑥 4 − 16

the fraction with numerator x to the fifth minus 32 and denominator x to the fourth minus
16].

ANSWER: 5/2 (ACCEPT: 2 ½ OR 2.5)

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3) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is nearest the percentage of the
Earth’s surface that is covered by glaciers?

W) 1%
X) 5%
Y) 10%
Z) 20%

ANSWER: Y) 10%

BONUS

3) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following organisms was NOT present in
the Jurassic?

W) Triceratops
X) Ichthyosaurs [IK-thee-uh-sawrs]
Y) Dinoflagellates [din-uh-FLAJ-uh-layts]
Z) Ginkgoes [GING-kohs]

ANSWER: W) TRICERATOPS

TOSS-UP

4) PHYSICS Short Answer If it takes 60 pounds-force to loosen a lug nut with a 5 inch wrench,
how much force in pounds-force would it take if you used a 12 inch wrench instead?

ANSWER: 25

BONUS

4) PHYSICS Multiple Choice On a sunny clear day, the sky seems to be bluer directly overhead
than it does toward the horizon. Which of the following is the reason?

W) Light from the Sun undergoes more scattering with distance

X) The atmosphere has higher density at the zenith versus closer to the Earth’s surface
Y) There is more oxygen in the air closer to the Earth’s surface than high in the atmosphere
Z) The upper atmosphere is colder than the Earth’s surface

ANSWER: W) LIGHT FROM THE SUN UNDERGOES MORE SCATTERING WITH DISTANCE

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5) ENERGY Multiple Choice By what process is gasoline separated from crude oil?

W) Distillation
X) Digestion
Y) Fracking
Z) Filtering

ANSWER: W) DISTILLATION

BONUS

5) ENERGY Short Answer What property of water allows it to have surface tension, and what is
the intermolecular force responsible?

ANSWER: COHESION AND HYDROGEN BONDING

TOSS-UP

6) BIOLOGY Short Answer What is the process by which bacterial genes can be transferred
from one bacterium to another via bacteriophages [bak-TEER-ee-uh-FAY-juhs]?

ANSWER: TRANSDUCTION

BONUS

6) BIOLOGY Short Answer In Labrador retrievers, coat color is determined by two sets of genes
on different loci [LOH-sy]. At one locus, the upper case B allele [uh-LEEL] codes for black coat
color, and the lower case b allele codes for brown coat pigment. At the second locus, the upper
case E allele codes for the presence of a transporter to carry pigment to the hair shaft and the
lower case e allele codes for the absence of the transporter. In the presence of transporter, the
dog is black or brown; in the absence of transporter, the dog is yellow. What is the genotype of a
yellow dog that is heterozygous for the brown allele?

ANSWER: Bbee (ACCEPT: bBee)

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7) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice Which of the following statements about visible energy
transitions in electronic spectroscopy is NOT true?

W) They are low energy transitions

X) They occur between d-orbitals of transition metals
Y) They occur between metal and ligand orbitals
Z) They occur between ligand orbitals

ANSWER: Z) THEY OCCUR BETWEEN LIGAND ORBITALS

BONUS

7) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice Propranolol [proh-PRAN-uh-lol] hydrochloride is a stable solid

that belongs to a class of molecules known as beta blockers, and is prescribed as a racemic
[ray-SEE-mik] mixture. Which of the following is NOT true with respect to propranolol
hydrochloride?

W) It will not rotate plane-polarized light

X) It is optically pure
Y) It is achiral [ay-KY-ruhl]
Z) It includes equal amounts of each enantiomer [i-NAN-tee-uh-mer]

ANSWER: X) IT IS OPTICALLY PURE

TOSS-UP

8) MATH Short Answer Starting with point (4, 2) in the coordinate plane, reflect it across the x-
axis, then rotate it 180o around the origin, and finally, translate it vertically up by 2 units. What
are the coordinates of the point’s final location?

ANSWER: (-4, 4)

BONUS

8) MATH Short Answer If z 1 = 4 + 3i and z 2 = i3, find the product of z 1 , z 2 , and the conjugate of
z1.

ANSWER: -25 i

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9) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The San Andreas Fault and collision of India with Asia
occurred in what geologic period?

W) Cambrian
X) Permian
Y) Cretaceous [kri-TAY-shuhs]
Z) Oligocene [OL-i-goh-seen]

ANSWER: Z) OLIGOCENE

BONUS

9) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name of the largest aquifer [AK-wuh-fer] in
the United States that underlies most of the Midwest?

ANSWER: OGALLALA AQUIFER

TOSS-UP

10) PHYSICS Multiple Choice The messenger particles of weak interaction are which of the
following?

W) Z bosons only
X) W+ and W- bosons only
Y) Z, W+, and W- bosons
Z) Virtual photons

ANSWER: Y) Z, W+, AND W- BOSONS

BONUS

10) PHYSICS Multiple Choice A transformer has a primary coil with 10 loops and a secondary
coil with 100 loops. If the primary coil is supplied with a household voltage of 100 volts and
current of 10 amperes, what is the maximum voltage, in volts, across an open circuit produced
in the secondary circuit?

W) 10
X) 100
Y) 1000
Z) 10,000

ANSWER: Y) 1000

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11) BIOLOGY Short Answer The following four terms would apply to what group of organisms:
primaries, axillars, coverts, scapulars?

ANSWER: BIRDS

BONUS

11) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice When a gene is duplicated within an organism to generate a
second copy of that gene, what term in genomics would describe the relationship between the
genes?

W) Paralogous
X) Orthologous
Y) Syntologous
Z) Heterologous

ANSWER: W) PARALOGOUS

TOSS-UP

12) CHEMISTRY Short Answer Providing your answer as a whole number, what is the overall
order of the reaction governed by the rate law R = k[NO 2 ]2[Br 2 ] [R equals k times the
concentration of N-O-2 squared times the concentration of bromine]?

ANSWER: 3 (ACCEPT: THIRD OR THIRD ORDER)

BONUS

12) CHEMISTRY Short Answer Hydrogen and chlorine are reacted in a 500 milliliter flask to
form hydrogen chloride. It takes 0.08 seconds for the amount of chlorine to change by -0.005
moles. Providing your answers as decimals, determine the rate of conversion, in moles per
second, and the rate of reaction, in molarity per second.

ANSWER: RATE OF CONVERSION = 0.0625; RATE OF REACTION = 0.125

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13) PHYSICS Multiple Choice If object A and object B are in thermal equilibrium, and object B
and object C are in thermal equilibrium, then object A and object C are also in thermal
equilibrium. This situation is an example of what law of thermodynamics?

W) Zeroth
X) First
Y) Second
Z) Third

ANSWER: W) ZEROTH

BONUS

13) PHYSICS Multiple Choice Which of the following is nearest escape velocity on the surface
of the Earth, in miles per hour?

W) 1000
X) 25,000
Y) 66,000
Z) 670 million

ANSWER: X) 25,000

TOSS-UP

14) MATH Short Answer What is the area of the region bounded by the curve: y = sinx [y equals
sine of x] and the x-axis from x = 0 to x = π?

ANSWER: 2

BONUS

14) MATH Short Answer What is the largest possible real domain for the function
𝑓(𝑥) = (4𝑥 2 )/√4 − 𝑥 2 [f of x equals the fraction with numerator 4 x squared and
denominator the square root of the quantity 4 minus x squared]?

ANSWER: (-2, 2) (ACCEPT: -2 < x < 2)

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15) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The Volcanic Explosivity Index rated the Toba eruption
as an 8, the highest rating. Which of the following environments was the most likely tectonic
setting for this eruption?

W) Hot spot
X) Subduction zone
Y) Triple junction
Z) Mid-ocean ridge

ANSWER: X) SUBDUCTION ZONE

BONUS

15) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following minerals is NOT a polymorph of
Al 2 SiO 5 ?

W) Andalusite [an-dl-OO-syt]
X) Aragonite [uh-RAG-uh-nyt]
Y) Sillimanite [SIL-uh-muh-nyt]
Z) Kyanite [KAY-uh-nyt]

ANSWER: X) ARAGONITE

TOSS-UP

16) ENERGY Multiple Choice Which of the following processes is currently used commercially
to enrich uranium in the United States?

W) Gaseous diffusion
X) Gaseous centrifugation
Y) Metal plating
Z) Electrolysis

ANSWER: W) GASEOUS DIFFUSION

BONUS

16) ENERGY Multiple Choice Solvent-based techniques best capture carbon dioxide under
which of the following relative conditions?

W) High temperature, high pressure

X) High temperature, low pressure
Y) Low temperature, high pressure
Z) Low temperature, low pressure

ANSWER: Y) LOW TEMPERATURE, HIGH PRESSURE

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17) PHYSICS Multiple Choice Fluid pressure is caused by which of the following?

W) Gravitational interactions among atoms and molecules of the fluid

X) Collisions of fast moving atoms and molecules of the fluid
Y) Strong nuclear force among nucleons
Z) Weak forces among particles

ANSWER: X) COLLISIONS OF FAST MOVING ATOMS AND MOLECULES OF THE FLUID

BONUS

17) PHYSICS Short Answer A projectile is launched with a speed of 10 meters per second from
the top of a 30 meter tall cliff at an angle of 30° above the horizontal. Assuming that g is 10
meters per second squared, how many seconds after launch will it take this particle to strike the
ground at the bottom of the cliff?

ANSWER: 3

TOSS-UP

18) BIOLOGY Short Answer In what taxonomic phylum [FY-luhm] can you find an
indeterminate species in the genus Marchantia [mar-CHANT-ee-uh]?

ANSWER: HEPATOPHYTA

BONUS

18) BIOLOGY Short Answer For a DNA template that reads 3’ [3 prime] TAC AAA ATC 5’ [5
prime], give the sequence of the RNA transcribed from it with appropriate polarity.

ANSWER: 5’ AUG UUU UAG 3’

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19) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice Which of the following gases would deviate most from ideal
gas behavior?

W) Helium
X) Hydrogen
Y) Oxygen
Z) Neon

ANSWER: Y) OXYGEN

BONUS

19) CHEMISTRY Short Answer How many different structural isomers are there for heptane?

ANSWER: NINE

TOSS-UP

𝑑 𝑥
20) MATH Multiple Choice What is ∫ 𝑡 2 𝑑𝑑 [the derivative with respect to x of the integral
𝑑𝑑 4
from 4 to x of t squared dt]?

W) x2
X) (1/3)x3
Y) (64/3)x
Z) 16x2

ANSWER: W) x2

BONUS

20) MATH Short Answer What are the vertical and horizontal asymptotes, respectively, of
f(x) = (x2 - √3)/(x2 – 2x - 15) [f of x equals the fraction with numerator x squared minus the
square root of 3 and denominator x squared minus 2x minus 15]?

ANSWER: VERTICAL: x = -3, x = 5; HORIZONTAL: y = 1

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21) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice Which of the following anatomical adjectives is NOT correctly
described?

W) Celiac-abdominal
X) Anterior-front end
Y) Rostral-near the tail
Z) Pedal-relating to the foot

ANSWER: Y) ROSTRAL-NEAR THE TAIL

BONUS

21) BIOLOGY Short Answer During the early stages of the Human Genome Project, fragments
of human DNA were placed into vectors called yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs). What
replication enzyme would be needed in the test tube to connect the two DNA fragments
together, creating recombinant DNA?

ANSWER: LIGASE (ACCEPT: DNA LIGASE)

TOSS-UP

22) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following desert landforms is NOT
formed through the process of abrasion?

W) Yardang
X) Wind bridge
Y) Desert pavement
Z) Inselberg

ANSWER: Y) DESERT PAVEMENT

BONUS

22) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following types of terrace is carved into
bedrock?

W) Fill
X) Strath
Y) Alluvium [uh-LOO-vee-uhm]
Z) Accretion

ANSWER: X) STRATH

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23) PHYSICS Multiple Choice A proton initially at rest is accelerated through a potential
difference of 1 megavolt. What is its final kinetic energy in electronvolts?

W) 103
X) 1.6 × 106
Y) 106
Z) 1.6 × 106

ANSWER: Y) 106

BONUS

23) PHYSICS Short Answer A 2 kilogram ball experiences a force according to the relation
𝐹 = 6𝑡 2 , where F is the force in newtons and t is the time in seconds. Assuming that the ball
started from rest, how fast in meters per second is the ball moving after experiencing this force
for 5 seconds?

ANSWER: 125

TOSS-UP

24) ENERGY Multiple Choice What is the major potential benefit of electric propulsion systems
for the NASA space program?

W) They are lighter than traditional fuels

X) They are less toxic than traditional fuels
Y) They contribute to an artificial gravity environment
Z) They require less research and development

ANSWER: W) THEY ARE LIGHTER THAN TRADITIONAL FUELS

BONUS

24) ENERGY Multiple Choice Which of the following advantages is offered by mid- and deep-
ocean sequestration that is not possible at shallower depths?

W) Faster mineralization of carbon dioxide

X) Easier injection of carbon dioxide
Y) Buoyant carbon dioxide hydrates
Z) Longer residence time

ANSWER: Z) LONGER RESIDENCE TIME

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25) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice Which of the following pairs includes a toothed whale and a
baleen whale?

W) Bowhead whale and blue whale

X) Grey whale and beluga whale
Y) Sperm whale and narwhal
Z) Northern right whale and minke

ANSWER: X) GREY WHALE AND BELUGA WHALE

BONUS

25) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice At a 4th of July picnic, Uncle Vernon was munching down on his
ear of yellow corn when he exclaimed, “Why do some of these corn kernels have purple spots?
Is the corn toxic?” You quickly explain that the corn is not toxic and that the spots were caused
by what?

W) Transcription start variation

X) Transposition of a jumping gene
Y) Random X-inactivation
Z) Genetic modifications

ANSWER: X) TRANSPOSITION OF A JUMPING GENE

High School Round 10 A Page 13