GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS

TEST YOUR BASIC SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

Chap 1

(POINTS FOR PERFECT ANSWER ONLY). Test your general scientific literacy

1. What percent of adults claim they still believe in Santa Clause?
   • A) 1%
   • B) 10%
   • C) 35%
   • D) 0%
2. College science majors believe in Astrology
   • A) To the same extent as non-science majors
   • B) Less than non-science majors
   • C) To a greater degree than non-science majors
3. Which of these choices is correct:
   • A) Astrology is a hard science.
   • B) Astronomy is a hard science.
   • C) Both astrology and astronomy are hard sciences.
4. "Fuel cells make possible the dream of running a car on water: separate water into H₂ and O and, presto--car fuel." The information left out of this statement is:
   • A) H₂ and O produce very little energy when they are united and thus would be very poor fuels for running automobiles.
   • B) The fact that to separate water into its elements requires that you put in as much energy as you get out when you burn the hydrogen and oxygen. And generating that initial energy is going to produce a certain amount of pollution.
   • C) Fuel cells are highly explosive and having one in your car would be the equivalent of driving around with a bomb that is liable to go off at the slightest bump.
5. TV, VCR and computers are "science". True or False?
6. Primitive humans such as the Australian aboriginal, are unable to do creative science in their daily lives. True or False.
7. Which statement best describes the state of Evolutionary science today:
   • A) Evolution is a theory in crisis because new scientific evidence has thrown grave doubts on its validity.
   • B) Evolution is considered an failed theory by the majority of biological scientists around the world.
   • C) Recent discoveries throughout the scientific world have completely supported the principles of evolution.
8. Which of the following statements best describe how "science works":
   • A) Science is a "dictatorship of the facts" and no one has a choice in the matter.
   • B) Science is a democratic process in that scientists in each area meet, discuss the various explanations of phenomena and vote on which one is correct.
   • C) Scientific fact is a policy of the elected government in that whoever is in charge determines what is "correct science".
9. What percentage of American adults believe that the statement "Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals" was true
   • A) 87%
   • B) 15%
   • C) 44%
10. Paleontology is the study of:
    • A) The fossils of extinct life forms.
    • B) The study ancient civilizations.
    • C) The study of the pathology of microbes.
11. The Bermuda Triangle is:
    • A) An area in the ocean where an exceptional number of boats have mysteriously disappeared.
    • B) An area of the ocean where hurricanes hit more frequently than any other.
    • C) An area of the ocean where commercial airplanes are forbidden to fly because so many have disappeared.
    • D) An area of the ocean where the disappearance of airplanes and ships is normal.
12. 12.According to congressman T. DeLay, on banning CFCs to reduce ozone depletion: "The science underlying the CFC ban is debatable" (10/27/95). True or False.
13. The percent of adult Americans that believe that the sun rotates around the earth:
    • A) 27
      B) 5
      C) 72
14. The percent of adult Americans that don't know that the earth takes a year to rotate around the sun"
    • A) 12
      B) 38
      C) 53
15. Percentage of Americans that know that the earth travels around the sun once a year:
    • A) 92%
    • B) 47%
    • C) 32%
16. Percentage of Americans that understand the concept of "molecule":
    • A) 10%
    • B) 75%
    • C) 48%
17. Percentage of Americans that understand the term "DNA":
    • A) 87%
    • B) 50%
    • C) 21%
18. What percent of the American public believes that GOD created humans within the past 10,000 years?
    • A) ~10%
      B) ~50%
      C) ~3%

Chap 2

Chap 3

Chap 4

Chap 5

Chap 6 EXTRA CREDIT QUESTIONS

INSTRUCTIONS: Label the Chapter # and under it lay out the numbers of the questions in a vertical column in your word processing program. Place the answer beside the appropriate number. Copy/paste the answers to your E-mail along with your name and ID# and E-mail it to me. If you get ALL OF THEM CORRECT you will receive 2 extra points

1. Humans and dinosaurs coexisted:

• (A) There is some valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (B) There is a lot of valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (C) There is no valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.

2. That there is valid scientific proof of UFOs:

• (A) There is some valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (B) There is a lot of valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (C) There is no valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.

3. That aliens (in space ships that is) have visited our planet:

• (A) There is some valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (B) There is a lot of valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (C) There is no valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.

4. That the AIDS virus was developed by the CIA and KGB working together:

• (A) There is some valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (B) There is a lot of scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (C) There is no valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.

5. That psychic phenomena like ESP, clairvoyance and astrology are scientifically valid:

• (A) There is some valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (B) There is a lot of valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (C) There is no valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.

6. That some other animals besides man uses tools.

• (A) There is some valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (B) There is a lot of valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.
• (C) There is no valid scientific evidence to support this conclusion.

7. What percent of Americans believe that evolution is wrong and that man did NOT evolve from lower animals.

• (A) >50%
• (B) ~25%
• (C) ~95%

Answers:

EXTRA CREDIT 6B

1. The percent of working physicists and biologists that hold strong spiritual beliefs is:

A. <1%
B. >90%
C. 40%
D. 10%

Answer the following TRUE or FALSE:

2. The Vatican has formally apologized for its arrest of Galileo.

3. The Vatican has acknowledged that "evolution more than a hypothesis".

4. It is uncommon for good scientists (e.g. Nobel Prize winners) to be believers in a Creator.

5. Science seeks to know the mechanisms of the universe, while religion seeks its meaning.

6. The main-line Christian, and most Judaism and Islam denominations, have stopped making claims that the Earth was only recently created.

Answers:

Chap 7

Chap 8

Chap 9

Chap 10

EXTRA CREDIT SURPRISE FOR THOSE WHO READ AHEAD

Below is a list of descriptions. Match each with a palindromic description and win 1 point for each one you do. As before, should you accept this assignment the answers must be E-mailed to me prior to the beginning of the lecture on the Chapter.

• 1. Enthusiastic opera singer:
  2. Uninspired poet:
  3. Performing rodents:
  4. 1/2 of a double boiler:
  5. X-rated film:

Click here after the lecture has begun to see the answers.

Chap 11

Chap 12

Chap 13

Chap 14

1. The best way to prevent getting colds is:
   • A. To wash your hands frequently.
   • B. To wear gloves when going to the bathroom.
   • C. To wear a mask over your nose.
2. Why is the HIV like a "changeling"?
   • A. Because it keeps mutating its DNA.
   • B. Because it keeps mutating its RNA.
   • C. Because it has a flexible shape that takes many forms.

Chap 15

(10 POINTS FOR PERFECT ANSWER ONLY). These are the world's 10 deadliest diseases; List them in order, in a VERTICAL LIST (1 TO 10), from 1 (most deadly) to 10. Mark the viral ones with a (*); the protozoan ones with (#);the bacterial ones with ($) and the parasitic worms with (+). Two diseases are produced by several pathogens that cause the same symptoms, mark these with (?).

1. Malaria
2. Whooping cough
3. Tuberculosis
4. Measles
5. Roundworm
6. Pneumonia
7. Diarrhea
8. AIDS
9. Tetanus
10. Hepatitis B

This is the correct order (WHO).

1. F? Pneumonia
2. G? Diarrhea
3. C$ Tuberculosis
4. A# Malaria
5. J* Hepatitis B
6. H* AIDS
7. D* Measles
8. I$ Tetanus
9. B$ Whooping cough
10. E+ Roundworm

Chap 16

Chap 17

Numbers 1 through 7 are common STD MYTHS.

1. All persons with STDs have obvious symptoms. T or F
2. Only people with visible or open STD sores are contagious. T or F
3. No vaccine exists for any STD. T or F.
4. Vaginal infections are inconvenient but not dangerous. T or F.
5. My child is not at risk of getting a STD before they enter college. T or F.
6. Washing for men and douching for women prevents STDs. T or F.
7. STDs are no worse than a bad cold. T or F.
8. How many people in America came down with an STD in 1995?:
   • 12 million.
   • 2 million
   • 50 million
9. How many Americans carry some type of STD infection?
   • A. 100 million
   • B 15 million
   • C 55 million.
10. How many people in the US are infected with genital herpes (GH)?
    • A. 31 million.
    • B. 15 million
    • C. 150 million
11. How many new cases of GH in the US were reported in 1995?
    • A. 5 million
    • B. 500,000.
    • C. 50 million
12. How many people in the US were infected with chlamydia in the US in 1995?
    • A. 500,000.
    • B. 50 million
    • C. 4 million.
13. How many people in the US became infected with genital warts in 1995?
    • A. 50 million
    • B. 1 million.
    • C. 10 million
14. What is the current cost per patient per year of AIDS treatment?
    • A. ~$20,000
    • B. ~$5,000
    • C. ~100,000
15. Annual cost in dollars of treating patients with AIDS and other STDs in the US:
    • A. 5 billion
    • B. 100 billion
    • C. 17 billion
16. What percentage of AIDS victims live in the developing world?
    • A. 25
    • B. 60
    • C. 90
17. The latest treatment for AIDS involves a vaccine: True or False.
18. The number of people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS is estimated to be:
    • A. 20 million
      B. 5 million
      C. 100 million
19. The major mode of HIV transmission in the world is:
    • A. Homosexual sex, ~80%
      B. Heterosexual sex, 70-75%
      C. IV drug use, ~65%
20. World wide, homosexuals account for what percentage of HIV infections?
    • A. <2%
      B. 5-10%
      C. 85%
21. World wide, IV drug users account for what percentage of HIV infections?
    • A. 5-10%
      B. 50%
      C. 75%
22. In the US what percent of HIV transmission is by homosexual sex?
    • A. 99%
      B. 90%
      C. 51%
23. In the US what percent of HIV transmission is by heterosexual sex?
    • A. 8%
      B. 45%
      C. 25%
24. In the US what percent of HIV transmission is by IV drug users?
    • A. 10%
      B. 55%
      C. 25%
25. In the US what percentage of NEW HIV infections occurs in people under 25?
    • A. ~50%
      B. ~10%
      C. ~2%

26. The National Academy of Sciences recently made a study of the effects condom availability and school based education programs to prevent STDs and found the following:

• A. That both these factors resulted in a significant increase in sexual activity of teenagers.
  B. That both these factors resulted in a significant decrease in sexual activity of teenagers.
  C. That both these factors resulted in no significant increase in sexual activity of teenagers.

27.By 1988 what percentage of Americans infected with HIV have died?

• A. ~15%
  B. ~90%
  C. ~50%

28. In Burundi and Rwanda (Africa) what percent of pregnant women are HIV-positive?

• A. 20%
  B. 5%
  C. 45%

Chap 18

1. How many tons of water does it take to grow one ton of grain? 1,000 tons
2. What percent of the world's population lives in countries experiencing chronic water scarcity? 40%
3. What percentage of its wetlands has CA lost? 95%

Chap 19

Chap 20