CONTEST 9

ROUND 1

PREAMBLE: Find the remainder R when the polynomial f(x) is divided by the linear term.
1. f(x) = x3 – 6x2 + 3x – 2 by (x – 2)
ANSWER: R = - 12
[f(2) = 8 - 24 + 6 – 2 = - 12]
2. f(x) = 3x3 + 10x2 – 7x + 6 by (x + 1)
ANSWER: R = 20
[R = f(-1) = -3 + 10 + 7 + 6 = 23 – 3 = 20]
3. f(x) = 2x3 + 7x2 + 8x – 16 by (x – 1)
ANSWER: R = 1
[ R = f(1) = 2 + 7 + 8 – 16 = 17 – 16 = 1]
4. Give the name of the tissue that separates the xylem and the phloem of the vascular bundles
of dicot stems.
ANSWER: (Inter-fascicular) Cambium
5. Name the process by which solutions in living cells move against concentration gradient.
ANSWER: Active transport
6. Photosynthesis generally takes place in which parts of the plant?
ANSWER: Leaf and other chloroplast bearing parts

7. Find the power dissipated by a resistor when a potential difference of is applied across it.

ANSWER:

8. Determine the current in a resistor when it dissipates .

ANSWER:

9. A resistor is rated at . What is the maximum potential difference that can safely be

applied across it?

ANSWER:

10. If you are given a water soluble solid salt, and you are required to dissolve it in
approximately 100 cm3 of water, which glassware will be most appropriate?

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 ANSWER: Beaker
11. What are the main features of a laboratory pan balance?
ANSWER: (1) It has two pans
(2) The pans are hanging at the end of a beam
(3) The beam is balanced on a sharp edge.
12. Give two main differences between a watch glass and an evaporating dish?
ANSWER: (1) An evaporating dish is usually made of ceramic material while
watch glass is glass
(2) While the evaporating dish is deep or is like a bowl, a watch glass is very
shallow or has a small curvature.
PREAMBLE: Find the ratio x : y given
13. (x – y)/2 = (x + y)/3
ANSWER: x:y=5:1
[ 3(x – y) = 2(x + y), x = 5y, x/y = 5/1, x : y = 5 : 1]
14. (x + 3y)/5 = (x + y)/2
ANSWER: x:y=1:3
[2(x + 3y) = 5(x + y), 2x + 6y = 5x + 5y, 3x = y, x/y = 1/3, x : y = 1 : 3]
15. (2x – y)/3 = (x + 2y)/5
ANSWER: x : y =11 : 7
[5(2x – y) = 3(x + 2y), 10x – 5y = 3x + 6y, 7x = 11y, x /y = 11/7, x : y = 11 : 7 ]
16. Name the structure that prevents bony fishes from sinking in water.
ANSWER: Swim bladder
17. Which part of the gill of a bony fish is responsible for gaseous exchange?
ANSWER: (Gill) Filament
18. Name the structure in bony fishes that enables the fish strain tiny food particles out of water
for feeding purposes.
ANSWER: Gill rakers
19. How does the strength of the electric field produced by a point charge vary with distance from the
charge?

ANSWER: is proportional to the inverse square distance

20. The distance between a point charge and an observation point is doubled. How does the electrostatic
potential change?
ANSWER: It is halved

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21. How does the strength of the electric field produced between two very large parallel plates carrying
equal but opposite charge vary with distance from one of the plates?
ANSWER: It is constant
22. If the half – life of a reaction is 1 minute, calculate the rate constant of the reaction and give
your answer in the scientific notation to two places of decimal.
ANSWER: t1/2 = 0.693/k
k = 0.693/1*60 = 1.16*10-2 s-1
23. The decay constant of a radioactive substance is 7.7*10-3 s-1. Calculate the half – life of the
substance
ANSWER: t1/2 = 0.693/k
= 0.693/7.7*10-3 = 90 s or 1.5 minute
24. A radioactive substance has a half – life of 5 hours. What percentage of the initial activity
will be left after 20 hours
ANSWER: Up 20 hours, we have 4 half – lifes
0 - 5 - 10 - 15 - 20
50% 25% 12.5% 6.25%
So the percentage left is 6.25% of the initial activity.

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 ROUND 2 - SPEED ROUND

1. Which structure in plants absorbs most of the water needed by the plant?
ANSWER: Roof hairs
2. Name simplest form of nervous pathway which links receptors with effectors.
ANSWER: Reflex arc
3. Which abiotic factor determines the depth to which light penetrates a pond?
ANSWER: Turbidity
4. Identify the transformation in the plane given by (x, y)→ (-x, y)
ANSWER: reflection in the y-axis,
5. Find the next prime number after 173
ANSWER: 179
6. Find the scale of a map if a distance of 15 km is represented by 3 cm on the map.
ANSWER: 1 : 500,000 [3 : 15 x 1000 x 100 = 1 : 500,000]
7. The terminals of a solenoid are connected to those of a sensitive moving coil galvanometer. What is
observed when a pole of a strong magnet is plunged into one end of the solenoid and held stationary
within the solenoid?
ANSWER: The needle of the galvanometer deflects as the pole approaches the solenoid and
returns to zero as the pole is brought to rest; it stays at zero while the magnet is not moving
8. What is the magnitude of the speed of light in vacuum to two significant figures?

ANSWER:

9. A parallel plate capacitor has capacitance . Find the change in capacitance when the distance

between the plates is decreased by

ANSWER:

10. To whom do we attribute the statement; Atoms of different elements have different mass and
size
ANSWER: John Dalton
11. Complete the following statement, which is part of John Dalton’s Theory; “Atoms combine
to form compounds………………”
ANSWER: And they do so in simple whole numbers (or simple ratios)

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12. Which event occurred first: The creation of the Periodic Table by Mendeleyev or the proposal
of the plum pudding model for an atom by J.J. Thompson
ANSWER: The creation of the Periodic Table (1869) Plum pudding model (1899).
PROBLEM OF THE DAY
ROUND 3

Give the names and the corresponding structural formulae of isomers

of the compound C5H11Cl. The isomers should be limited to

substituted pentanes and substituted butanes. Indicate which of the

compounds are likely to be optically active

SOLUTION

(1) ClCH2CH2CH2CH2CH3 1-chloropentane

(2) CH3CHClCH2CH2CH3 2-chloropentane

(3) CH3CH2CHClCH2CH3 3-chloropentane

(4) ClCH2CH(CH3)CH2CH3 1-chloro-2-methylbutane

(5) ClCH2CH2CH2(CH3)CH3 1-chloro-3-methylbutane

(6) CH3CCl(CH3)CH2CH3 2-chloro-2-methylbutane

(7) CH3CHClCH(CH3)CH3 2-chloro-3-methylbutane

Optically active compounds

CH3CHClCH2CH2CH3 2-chloropentane

ClCH2CH(CH3)CH2CH3 1-chloro-2-methylbutane

CH3CHClCH(CH3)CH3 2-chloro-3-methylbutane

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ROUND 4

TRUE OR FALSE

1. Pollination can take place without fertilization.

ANSWER: True
2. Fertilisation can take place without pollination.
ANSWER: False
3. Pollination and fertilisation must occur at the same time.
ANSWER: False
4. cos(90° – A) = cosA
ANSWER: False
5. cos(90° + A) = sinA
ANSWER: False
6. sin(90° + A) = cosA
ANSWER: True
7. Iron (II) sulphide, obtained by passing H2S through a solution of iron (II) salt is
coloured blue.
ANSWER: False The colour is black
8. When dilute ammonia is added dropwise to iron (III) solution, a red–brown
precipitate is formed, which dissolves in excess ammonia.
ANSWER: False The precipitate is red–brown but it does not dissolve in
excess
9. Bubbling H2S gas through a solution of calcium ions gives a white precipitate
ANSWER: False No precipitate is formed
10. The period of a simple pendulum is directly proportional to the square root of the
length of the pendulum.
ANSWER: True
11. Thermal expansion can cause the length of a simple pendulum to increase,
thereby increasing the period of the pendulum.
ANSWER: True
12. The period of a simple pendulum on the moon is different from the period of the

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 same pendulum on earth because the weight of the bob of the pendulum on earth
is different from the weight on the moon.
ANSWER: False
13. A protein-digesting enzyme when mixed with starch solution would produce glucose.
ANSWER: False
14. A protein-digesting enzyme when mixed with starch solution would produce amino
acids.
ANSWER: False
15. A protein-digesting enzyme when mixed with starch solution would have no action
ANSWER: True
16. A parallelogram with a right angle is a square.
ANSWER: False
17. A parallelogram with two adjacent congruent sides is a rhombus.
ANSWER: True
18. A square is a rectangle.
ANSWER: True
19. For the extraction of the iron metal from its ore using the Blast Furnace, the other raw
materials required are coke and sand.
ANSWER: False Limestone is also needed
20. Steel is a solid solution, with solute and solvent being solids.
ANSWER: True
21. Aluminum is no longer used in the manufacture of cooking utensils because it has
been found to be poisonous.
ANSWER: False
22. When light is incident at a plane interface between two media, the angle of
reflection equals the angle of incidence.
ANSWER: True
23. When light is incident at a curved interface between two media, the angle of
reflection depends on the angle of incidence and the curvature of the interface.
ANSWER: False
24. When light is incident at the interface between two media, the incident, reflected
and transmitted rays are coplanar.
ANSWER: True

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ROUND 5
RIDDLES
RIDDLE 1
1. I am an element discovered in 1826
2. I am one of those elements whose smallest units are not atoms but molecules
3. I have a boiling point of about 59oC
4. I am used in making fumigants, flame proofing agents, water purification compounds,
sanitizers and many more useful products
5. I am the only liquid non–metallic element and my colour is reddish–brown
Who am I?
ANSWER: Bromine

RIDDLE 2
1. I am a composite organism
2. My properties are very different from the properties of my component organisms
3. I come in many colours, sizes, and forms
4. I normally grow on the bark of trees, leaves, mosses, bare rock, walls, gravestones, roofs
and exposed soil surfaces
5. I arise from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of a fungus in a symbiotic
relationship
Who am I?
ANSWER: Lichen

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RIDDLE 3
1. I am a type of gas.
2. I exhibit a tendency to condense.
3. So I am not an ideal gas.
4. My equation of state is similar to that of an ideal gas;
5. But the volume term is smaller by a quantity that takes the actual volume of my molecules
into account.
Who am I?
ANSWER: van der Waals gas

RIDDLE 4

1. I am a 2-digit number.
2. Both digits are prime.
3. I am an even number.
4. My first digit exceeds the second digit by 5.
5. I am six dozens.
Who am I?
ANSWER: 72