Science and the human body general knowledge quiz

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1. 1. What is the chemical symbol for gold?
   • A. Go
   • B. Gd
   • C. Au (answer)
   • D. Ag
   It comes from the Latin word aurum.
2. 2. Which planet is known as the Red Planet?
   • A. Venus
   • B. Mars (answer)
   • C. Jupiter
   • D. Mercury
   Its colour comes from iron oxide dust.
3. 3. What is the largest organ of the human body?
   • A. Liver
   • B. Brain
   • C. Skin (answer)
   • D. Lungs
   The skin accounts for roughly 15% of body weight.
4. 4. How many bones are in the adult human body?
   • A. 186
   • B. 206 (answer)
   • C. 226
   • D. 256
   Babies are born with around 300, many of which fuse.
5. 5. What gas do plants absorb from the air for photosynthesis?
   • A. Oxygen
   • B. Nitrogen
   • C. Carbon dioxide (answer)
   • D. Hydrogen
   They release oxygen as a byproduct.
6. 6. What is the hardest natural substance on Earth?
   • A. Quartz
   • B. Diamond (answer)
   • C. Titanium
   • D. Obsidian
   Diamond scores a perfect 10 on the Mohs scale.
7. 7. Which blood cells carry oxygen around the body?
   • A. White cells
   • B. Red cells (answer)
   • C. Platelets
   • D. Plasma cells
   Their red colour comes from haemoglobin.
8. 8. What is the speed of light in a vacuum, roughly?
   • A. 300 km per second
   • B. 3,000 km per second
   • C. 30,000 km per second
   • D. 300,000 km per second (answer)
   Light from the Sun takes about eight minutes to reach Earth.
9. 9. Which element has the atomic number 1?
   • A. Helium
   • B. Hydrogen (answer)
   • C. Oxygen
   • D. Carbon
   Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe.
10. 10. What is the smallest unit of life?
    • A. Atom
    • B. Molecule
    • C. Cell (answer)
    • D. Organ
    The cell theory dates back to the 1830s.
11. 11. Which planet has the most moons currently confirmed?
    • A. Jupiter
    • B. Saturn (answer)
    • C. Uranus
    • D. Neptune
    Saturn overtook Jupiter with well over 100 confirmed moons.
12. 12. What does DNA stand for?
    • A. Deoxyribonucleic acid (answer)
    • B. Dinucleic acid
    • C. Deoxyribose nucleic atom
    • D. Dual nucleic acid
    Its double helix structure was described in 1953.
13. 13. Which metal is liquid at room temperature?
    • A. Lead
    • B. Mercury (answer)
    • C. Aluminium
    • D. Tin
    It was once used in thermometers.
14. 14. What part of the eye controls how much light enters?
    • A. Retina
    • B. Cornea
    • C. Iris (answer)
    • D. Lens
    The iris gives eyes their colour.
15. 15. How long does Earth take to orbit the Sun, to the nearest day?
    • A. 350 days
    • B. 365 days (answer)
    • C. 375 days
    • D. 400 days
    The extra quarter day is why we have leap years.
16. 16. Which vitamin is produced in the skin when exposed to sunlight?
    • A. Vitamin A
    • B. Vitamin C
    • C. Vitamin D (answer)
    • D. Vitamin K
    It helps the body absorb calcium.
17. 17. What is the boiling point of water at sea level in Celsius?
    • A. 90
    • B. 95
    • C. 100 (answer)
    • D. 110
    At altitude, water boils at a lower temperature.
18. 18. Which gas makes up most of Earth's atmosphere?
    • A. Oxygen
    • B. Carbon dioxide
    • C. Nitrogen (answer)
    • D. Argon
    Nitrogen accounts for about 78%.
19. 19. What is the largest bone in the human body?
    • A. Skull
    • B. Femur (answer)
    • C. Spine
    • D. Pelvis
    The femur, or thigh bone, is also the strongest.
20. 20. Who proposed the theory of general relativity?
    • A. Isaac Newton
    • B. Niels Bohr
    • C. Albert Einstein (answer)
    • D. Stephen Hawking
    He published it in 1915.