CONTEST 39

ROUND 1

PREAMBLE: Solve for x in the range 0° to 180° for the given trigonometric equation.
1. 2sinx = 1
ANSWER: x = 30°, 150° [ sinx = ½ , hence x = 30, (180 – 30) = 150]
2. 2cosx = 1
ANSWER: x = 60° [cosx = ½, hence x = 60]
3. Tanx = √3.
ANSWER: x = 60° [tanx = √3, hence x = 60]
PREAMBLE: The Geiger–Counter is used for detection of radioactive emissions.
4. The counter consists of a chamber and other parts. What is normally contained in the chamber?
ANSWER: A gas
5. How does the radioactive ray or emission interact with the gas?
ANSWER: The ray ionizes the gaseous molecules
6. How is the level of radioactivity measured?
ANSWER: The electrons produced from the gaseous molecules form a current or pulse which is
measured.

PREAMBLE: A classroom chair has four legs of square cross-section of side and a mass of

. A typical student in class has a mass of .

7. What is the pressure exerted by the chair on the classroom floor when a student stands on it?

ANSWER:

8. The elastic modulus of the material of the chair is . What is the compressive strain in a leg of the chair

when a student stands on it?

ANSWER:

9. The compressive strength of the material of the chair is . What is the largest mass that can be

supported by the legs of the chair?

ANSWER:
PREAMBLE: The pituitary gland produces several hormones. Give the full name of each of these
hormones produced by the gland.
10. TSH.
ANSWER: Thyroid-stimulating hormone
11. ADH,
ANSWER: Anti-diuretic hormone
12. FSH.
ANSWER: Follicle-stimulating hormone
PREAMBLE: Factorise completely.
13. ax + 2ay + 2bx + 4by.
ANSWER: (x + 2y)(a + 2b) [a(x + 2y) + 2b(x + 2y) = (a + 2b)(x + 2y)]
14. bx + 5by + 2ax + 10ay.
ANSWER: (b + 2a)(x + 5y) [x(b + 2a) + 5y(b + 2a) = (b + 2a)(x + 5y)]
15. xy – 6 + 3x – 2y.
ANSWER: (x – 2)(y + 3) [x(y + 3) – 2(y + 3) = (x - 2)(y + 3)]
16. State Pauli’s Exclusion Principle.
ANSWER: No two electrons in an atom can have exactly the same energy
17. State Hund’s Rule.
ANSWER: When electrons fill a subshell, every orbital in the subshell is occupied by a single
electron before any orbital is doubly occupied (and all electrons in singly occupied orbitals have
their spins in the same direction)
18. State the Aufbau Principle (or Building–up Principle).
ANSWER: Electrons always occupy the lowest empty energy level.

19. The coefficient of linear expansion of steel is .A long steel tape calibrated at

is used at . What is the length of the tape at ?

ANSWER:

Accept .

20. The coefficient of linear expansion of steel is and that of aluminium is .

What is the difference in length at of two rods one made of steel and the other of aluminium if they

both have a length of at ?

 ANSWER:

21. Ethanol at is contained in a cylindrical pipe of diameter to a depth of .

What is the depth of the alcohol at ? The coefficient of volume expansion of ethanol is

and the expansion of the pipe is negligible.

ANSWER:

22. What differences would you expect to see between cowpea seedlings grown for 7 days in total
darkness and cowpea seedlings grown in the light for the same period of time?
ANSWER: The seedlings grown in darkness will have long, thin, white stems (long internodes)
and small, unopened leaves. The seedlings grown in the light will have shorter, thicker greenish
stems (short internodes). The leaves will have opened up and will be green, and larger than those
of the seedlings in darkness
23. The early stages of germination of seeds take place in the soil where there is little or no light for
photosynthesis. How does a growing dicotyledonous seedling obtain energy for its growth during this
time?
ANSWER: In the early stages of germination, the seedling derives the energy for its growth
from food stored in the cotyledons.
24. Starch is one of the most common storage products in seeds. What happens to the starch before it can
be used by the germinating seed?
ANSWER: Starch is insoluble and has to be converted, by enzymes, to soluble sugars before it
can be transported and used in the seedling.
25. The length of a rectangle is 4 cm more than the width, and the perimeter is 40 cm. Find the area of the
rectangle.
ANSWER: 96 cm2
[L = W + 4, P = 2(L + W) = 2(2w + 4) = 40, 4W = 32, W = 8, L =12, Area = 8 x 12 = 96]
26. The length of a rectangle is twice the width and the area is 200 cm 2. Find the length L and the width
W.
ANSWER: L = 20 cm, W = 10 cm [LW = 2W2 = 200, W2 = 100, W = 10 and L = 20]
27. The length of a rectangle is 5 cm less than twice the width. If the perimeter is 50 cm, find the length L
and the width W.
ANSWER: L = 15 cm, W = 10 cm
[L = 2W – 5, P = 2(L + W) = 2(3W – 5) = 50, 6W = 60, W = 10, L = 20 – 5 = 15]
28. 10 cm3 of a solution containing 6 g per dm3 of a pesticide are diluted to 120 cm3 and sold in bottles to
customers. What is the concentration in ppm of the pesticide solution bought by customers?
ANSWER: Dilution is 10 → 120
That is 1 in 12
Concentration = 6/12 gdm-3 = 0.5 gdm-3
Therefore, concentration in ppm = 500 ppm
29. 20 cm of a 0.45 moldm NaOH solution are diluted to 240 cm3. 40 cm3 of the diluted solution are
3 -3

further diluted to 120 cm3. What is the concentration of the NaOH in moldm-3 in the final solution?
Give your answer to 4 places of decimal.
ANSWER: 1st Dilution 20 cm3 → 240 cm3; 1 in 12
nd 3 3
2 Dilution 40 cm → 120 cm ; 1 in 3
Total dilution = 1 in 36
New concentration = 0.45/36 moldm-3 = 0.0125 moldm-3
30. 50 cm3 of 0.100 moldm-3 of NaOH solution were diluted to 1 dm3 and 20 cm3 of the diluted solution
were further diluted to 400 cm3. Calculate the concentration of the NaOH in ppm in the final solution.
Molar mass of NaOH = 40.
ANSWER: 1st dilution 50 → 1000 cm3;1 in 20
2nd dilution 20 → 400 cm3; 1 in 20
Total dilution = 1 in 400
Final concentration = (0.1/400)*40 gdm-3 = 0.01 gdm-3
Concentration in ppm = 10 ppm

The mass of Jupiter is and its mean radius is . Assume Jupiter has a

uniform density, its shape is spherical, and its spin may be neglected.
31. Find the gravitational potential at half the radius of Jupiter.

ANSWER:

32. Find the magnitude of the gravitational force a object experiences half a radial distance from the

centre of Jupiter.

ANSWER:

33. Find the magnitude of the gravitational field at a radial distance from the centre of Jupiter.
 ANSWER:

34. What is the function of the ribs, other than protection?

ANSWER: The ribs help to change the volume of the thorax during breathing
35. State any other function of cartilage in mammals, other than connecting bones?
ANSWER: Provides support; Allows some flexibility of movement; Protects bones from
rubbing against each other at joints (reduces friction between the bones and); Acts as a shock
absorber.

36. Why does each skeletal muscle need an antagonistic partner?

ANSWER: Because muscles can only contract and relax, hence each skeletal muscle needs
an antagonistic partner to extend it after contraction
 ROUND 2 - SPEED ROUND

1. The concentration of the tissue fluid, which bathes all cells in the body, is kept more or less constant.
Why is this important?
ANSWER: If the tissue fluid became more dilute, the cells would absorb water by osmosis and
swell up. If the tissue fluid became more concentrated, the cells would lose water by osmosis,
shrink and become dehydrated, possibly to a point where metabolism is no longer possible.
2. When meat is salted, bacteria cannot grow on it. Suggest a reason for this.
ANSWER: The salt lowers the meat's osmotic potential so that water is withdrawn, by osmosis,
from bacterial cytoplasm and so kills the bacteria.
3. In a colony of honey bees the queen is the only fertile female. If the queen loses its egg-laying
capacity, how does the colony get a new queen?
ANSWER: A worker starts feeding on royal jelly and becomes a fertile queen
4. Give the types and the quantity of each type of transistor in a CMOS NOT gate.
ANSWER: One pmos and one nmos transistor.

5. Find the final temperature when of milk at is added to of tea at assuming no heat

loss to the container and equal specific heat capacity, of tea, milk, and water.

ANSWER:

6. A particle of mass moves along the x-axis from the point with coordinate with velocity to the point

with velocity in time under the action of a constant force . What is in terms of the given

quantities?

ANSWER:

7. Express the ratio in simplest form; ½ hr : 15secs

 ANSWER: 120 : 1 [30 x 60 : 15, 120 : 1]
8. solve for x in the proportion (x – 7)/8 = 7/4.
ANSWER: x = 21 [x – 7 = 14, x = 14 + 7 = 21]
9. Change the number 445 to a number in base 8.
ANSWER: 308 [4(5) + 4 = 20 + 4 = 24 = 3(8) + 0 = 308]
10. How many unsaturated, structural isomers does butene have? Name any two.
ANSWER: 3. 1–butene, 2–butene, 2–methylpropene, 1,1-dimethylethene
11. Which is more stable, 1–butene or 2–butene and why?
ANSWER: 2 – Butene is more stable because it has a more substituted double bond.
12. Pentane and 2–mehylbutane are isomers. Which one is likely to have the lower boiling point?
ANSWER: 2–methylbutane (boiling point 28oC) . (Pentane 36oC)
[Branching decreases the total surface area and hence intermolecular attractive forces]
 PROBLEM OF THE DAY

a) Evaluate
i) log(3/5)(27/125),
ii) antilog(2/3)(-4)

b) Solve the logarithmic equation

log5(y2 + 2y + 5) – log5(y – 5) = 2

SOLUTION:

a) i) (27/125) = (33/53) = (3/5)3

log(3/5)(3/5)3 = 3, hence log(3/5)(27/125) = 3 (2 MARKS)

ii) antilog(2/3)(-4) = (2/3)-4

= (3/2)4 = 81/16 (2 MARKS)

b) log5(y2 + 2y + 5) – log5(y – 5) = 2 = log525

(y2 + 2y + 5)/(y – 5) = 25 (2 MARKS)
 y2 + 2y + 5 = 25(y – 5)
y2 – 23y + 130 = 0 (2 MARKS)
(y – 10)(y – 13) = 0
y = 13 or y = 10 (2 MARKS)

ROUND 4

TRUE OR FALSE

1. The type of joint found between pubic bones in the pelvic girdle is a cartilaginous joint.
ANSWER: True
2. A saddle joint is found between the carpal and metacarpal of the thumb of mammals.
ANSWER: True
3. The type of joint found between the atlas and axis vertebra of vertebrates is a pivot joint.
ANSWER: True

4. For any function f(x), .

ANSWER: False

5. .

ANSWER: True

6. For a polynomial function f(x), .

ANSWER: True
7. Lithium iodide is less ionic than lithium chloride.
ANSWER: True
8. Lithium salts tend to be less ionic than the corresponding sodium salts.
ANSWER: True
9. HI is a stronger acid than HCl.
ANSWER: True HI bond much weaker than HCl bond
10. In a direct band gap semiconductor, a channel exists between the top of the valence band and the
bottom of the conduction band that allows electrons to jump between the two bands at any
 temperature.
ANSWER: False
11. Direct band gap semiconductors emit light more readily than indirect gap semiconductors because
photon momentum is small and so it is easier to conserve linear momentum when photons are emitted
in a direct gap semiconductor than in an indirect gap semiconductor.
ANSWER: True
12. Because a conductor has completely filled conduction and valence bands, it is easy for valence band
electrons to jump into the conduction band, thereby giving rise to high electrical conductivity.
ANSWER: False
13. The respiration of photosynthetic cells in the presence of light, resulting in the surplus release of
carbon dioxide is called photorespiration.
ANSWER: True
14. Photorespiration takes place in the presence of light under low temperature and oxygen concentration.
ANSWER: False
15. Photorespiration causes gain of fixed carbon.
ANSWER: False
16. At a turning point, dy/dx = 0.
ANSWER: False
17. A stationary point is a turning point.
ANSWER: True
18. A point of inflexion is a stationary point.
ANSWER: False
19. There are no exceptions to the Aufbau’s Rule.
ANSWER: False e.g 4s is filled before 3d
20. The valence configuration of 3d4 4s2 is more stable than 3d5 4s1.
ANSWER: False Later is more stable
21. The valence configuration of 3d10 4s1 is more stable than 3d9 4s2.
ANSWER: True
PREAMBLE: An inductor, a capacitor, and an incandescent lamp are connected in series and a
sinusoidal source maintains a constant-amplitude, variable frequency potential difference across the series
combination.
22. As the frequency of the source is increased slowly from zero, the brightness of the lamp increases
from zero to a steady value.
ANSWER: False
23. As the frequency of the source is increased slowly from zero, the brightness of the lamp decreases
gradually towards zero.
ANSWER: False
24. As the frequency of the source is increased slowly from zero, the brightness of the lamp increases
from zero to a maximum value and then decreases.
ANSWER: True

ROUND 5
RIDDLES
RIDDLE 1
1. You can say I am against logarithms.
2. I am in the opposition so far as logarithms are concerned.
3. For 1, I am 10 so far as common logarithms are concerned.
4. For 2, I am 9 in base 3.
5. I am the reverse process so far as logarithms are concerned.
6. For a given logarithm, I determine the corresponding number.
Who am I?

ANSWER: Antilogarithm

RIDDLE 2
1. I am a viscous, non-Newtonian fluid.
2. Normally, I am clear, pale yellow, sticky, and do not clot.
3. I am an ultrafiltrate from blood plasma,
4. I contain proteins derived from the blood plasma and proteins that are produced by cells within
the joint tissues.
5. My principal role is to reduce friction between the articular cartilages of synovial joints during
movement.
Who am I?

ANSWER: Synovial fluid

RIDDLE 3
1. I am a gas giant.
2. I am quite massive,
3. Though not as massive as my neighbor,
4. Who was the site of the spectacular encounter with Shoemaker-Levy in 1994.
5. I am home to Janus, Titan, and Phoebe.

Who am I?

ANSWER: Saturn

RIDDLE 4
1. The mystery about me is whether I am a gas or a liquid.
2. Ideally I should be part of every home but in Ghana I am not.
3. While you have your freedom of movement, I do not have that luxury.
4. I am stored in a limited space under extreme pressure all the time.
5. I am originally part of a liquid solution, dark brown in colour.
6. I am the first to be collected during fractional distillation of the liquid solution.
Who am I?

ANSWER: Liquified Petroleum Gas or LPG

RIDDLE 5
1. I am a disturbance that transports energy.
2. I am a type of wave.
3. I am characterized by oscillations perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
4. I propagate through vacuum.
5. I am characterized by oscillating electric and magnetic fields.
Who am I?

ANSWER: Electromagnetic wave