Multiple Choice Trivia Questions

1. What was the average life expectancy of white males born in the U.S. just before the Civil War?
   A. 40 years
   B. 50 years
   C. 60 years
   D. 70 years

2. What is a shaddock?
   
   A. a fish, the offspring of a male shad and a female haddock
   B. a crystal, such as quartz, that sticks out from a mineral vein
   C. a plant that is a member of the nightshade family
   D. a grapefruit
    

3. Which one of the following instruments is used to measure humidity?
   A. anemometer
   B. ammeter
   C. hygrometer
   D. barometer
    

4. Which two planets are most similar in size diameter wise?
   A. Mars and Mercury
   B. Venus and Earth
   C. Uranus and Neptune
   D. Jupiter and Saturn
    

5. If a hertz is equal to one cylce per second, how manyh cycles per second does a megahertz  equal?
   A. 1/1,000
   B. 1,000
   C. 1,000,000
   D. 1,000,000,000
    

6. What principle explains why cold food warms up and hot food cools off when stored at room temperature?
   A. entropy
   B. chemical equilibrium
   C. momentum
   D. relativity
    

7. Which color is not considered to be one of the primary colors of light?
   A. Red
   B. yellow
   C. green
   D. blue
    

8. What causes the disease toxoplasmosis?
   A. A bacterium
   B. a protozoan
   C. a virus
   D.  a prion
    

9. What is the slowest wind speed a hurricane can have according to the Saffir-Simpson scale?
   A. 50 m.p.h.
   B. 74 m.p.h.
   C. 96 m.p.h.
   D. 110 m.p.h.
    

10. Which of the following heavenly bodies have never had a spacecraft landed on it?
    A. Venus
    B. Mars
    C. the moon
    D. Jupiter
     

11. Meat should be kept frozen at what temperature in degrees Fahrenheit?
    A. 0 degrees or below
    B. between 10 and 20 degrees
    C. between 20 and 30 degrees
    D. just below 32 degrees
     

12. Many scientists think that some of the dinosaurs did not go extinct, but rather evolved into what kind of creature?
    A. amphibians
    B. reptiles
    C. birds
    D. mammals
     

13. In 1989, scientists from Norway discovered that there are far more viruses in oceans, lakes, and streams than previously believed.  How many viruses did they find that a milliliter of natural water might contain?
    A. up to 250
    B. up to 25,000
    C. up to 2,500,000
    D. up to 250,000,000
     

14. In which kind of geometry is the sum of the angles inside a triangle exactly equal to 180 degrees?
    A. elliptical
    B. Euclidean
    C. hyperbolic
    D. linear
     

15. What is the name of the disease that has been referred to as the "disease of kings"?
    A. hemophilia
    B. jaundice
    C. rubella
    D. syphilis
     

16. What disease causes a buildup of fluid pressure in the eyeball and damages the optic nerve at the back of the eye?
    A. astigmatism
    B. cataract
    C. glaucoma
    D. retinitis
     

17. What would be the most likely thing one would do with the compound MgSO4 7H2O?
    A. power a car
    B. blow up a building
    C. soak ones feet
    D. fertilize a lawn
     

18. Amps are a unit of measurement of what?
    A. electric charge
    B. electric current
    C. electric field strength
    D. electric potential
     

19.  In which century was the greatest number of chemical elements discovered?
    A.  17th
    B. 18th
    C.  19th
    D. 20th
     

20. Louis Pasteur developed which vaccine?
    A. polio
    B. rabies
    C. smallpox
    D. anthrax
     

ANSWERS

1. A. 40 years
2. D. a grapefruit
3. C. hygrometer
4. B. Venus and Earth
5. C. 1,000,000
6. A. entropy
7. B. yellow
8. B. a protozoan
9. B. 74 m.p.h.
10. D. Jupiter
11. A. 0 degrees or below
12. C. birds
13. D. up to 250,000,000
14. B. Euclidean
15. A. hemophilia
16. C. glaucoma
17. C. soak ones feet
18. B. electric current
19. C.  19th
20. B. rabies