Contest 30
Contest 30
Contest 30
ROUND 1
PREAMBLE: Two circles have radii of 20 cm and 13 cm respectively. Find the distance between their
centers if….
1. The circles are concentric.
ANSWER: 0 cm
2. The circles are tangent externally.
ANSWER: 33 cm [20 + 13 = 33]
3. The circles are tangent internally.
ANSWER: 7 cm [20 – 13 = 7]
4. Give the formula for Epsom salt.
ANSWER: MgSO4.7H2O
5. Give the formula for slaked lime.
ANSWER: Ca(OH)2
6. Give the chemical formula for marble.
ANSWER: CaCO3
7. What arises from lateral meristem activity in plants?
ANSWER: The activity of the lateral meristem results in growth in the thickness of the plant
body.
8. What is the function of apical meristems?
ANSWER: Apical meristem is responsible for bringing about increase in the length of the plant.
9. What is the primary function of the style in a flower?
ANSWER: A Style carries the stigma and exposes it properly for pollination.
10. How much charge is stored by a capacitor which is held at a potential difference of ?
ANSWER:
11. How much energy is stored by a capacitor which is held at a potential difference of ?
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
PREAMBLE: In a course, a student gets grade C if his average in 4 tests is between 50 and 60.
Find the range of score x on the fourth test to ensure a grade C, given that….
13. A student scores 65%, 55% and 45% in the first three tests.
ANSWER: {x : 35 < x <75}
[ 50 < (65 + 55 + 45 + x)/4 < 60, 200 < 165 + x < 240, 35 < x < 75]
14. A student scores 70%, 60% and 55% on the first three tests.
ANSWER: {x : 15 < x < 55}
[50 < (70 + 55 + 60 + x)/4 < 60, 200 < 185 + x < 240, 15 < x < 55]
15. A student scores 60%, 50% and 40% on the first three tests.
ANSWER: { x : 50 < x < 90}
[ 50 < (60 + 50 + 40 + x)/4 < 60, 200 < 150 + x < 240, 50 < x < 90]
16. Metals are said to consist of layers of cations with mobile electrons in between these layers. Which
physical properties of metals are easily accounted for by this description?
ANSWER: 1) Metals conduct electricity easily
2) Metals are ductile and malleable
17. Why is it that graphite, an allotrope of carbon, can conduct electricity although carbon is a non–
metal?
ANSWER: Graphite is made up of fused hexagonal ring of carbons with free electrons
forming layers above and below the rings. The electrons can flow easily across a
potential difference
18. Why are iron and steel articles chromium-plated?
ANSWER: Chromium gives those articles lustrous or shiny appearance, which is not easily
affected by the atmosphere.
19. A young tadpole has a long and coiled intestine. What type of diet is it adapted to?
ANSWER: Herbivorous diet
20. What is the most important function of the jelly-like substance that surrounds the eggs of toads?
ANSWER: It reduces the chances of the eggs being eaten by predators.
21. What name is given to the stage in the life cycle of plasmodium in which it lives in mosquitoes and is
injected into humans?
ANSWER: Sporozoites
22. Determine the magnitude of the acceleration produced by a and a perpendicular concurrent force
on a object.
ANSWER:
23. A block on a flat horizontal surface is pulled by a horizontal force. Find the magnitude of the
ANSWER:
24. Two perpendicular forces act concurrently on a object moving with an acceleration of . Find
ANSWER:
PREAMBLE: Determine if the three points A, B, C given lie on the same line.
25. A (2, 5), B(-2, -5) and C(4, 10).
ANSWER: Points lie on the same line
[ mAB =10/4 = 5/2, mBC = 15/6 = 5/2, hence points lie on the same line]
26. A (2, 1), B(-8, -1) and C(-3, 0).
ANSWER: Points lie on the same line
[ mAB = 2/10 = 1/5, mBC = 1/5, hence points lie on the same line]
27. A (1, 2), B(2, 4) and C(4, 2).
ANSWER: Points do not lie on the same line
[ mAB = 2/1 = 2, mBC = -2/2 = -1, hence points do not lie on the same line]
28. Potassium trioxochlorate (V) on heating gives potassium chloride and potassium tetraoxochlorate
(VII). Give me a balanced equation for the reaction.
ANSWER: 4 KClO3 + heat → 3 KClO4 + KCl
29. Bromine (IV) oxide reacts with hydroxide ions to give bromide anions, trioxobromate (V) anions and
water. Give me a balanced equation for the reaction.
ANSWER: 6 BrO2 + 6 OH- → 5 BrO3- + Br- + 3 H2O
30. Fluorine gas dissolves in hydroxide ion in solution to give fluoride ions, fluorine (I) oxide and water.
Give me a balanced equation for the reaction.
ANSWER: 2 F2 + 2 OH- → 2 F- + F2O + H2O
PREAMBLE: Rhizobium bacteria live in the root nodules of certain plants.
31. What type of ecological association exists between the bacteria and the plant?
ANSWER: Mutualism
32. Give one benefit that the bacteria obtains from the association.
ANSWER: Receives energy (Carbon compounds)
Protection and favourable environment
33. Give one benefit that the plant obtains from the association.
ANSWER: Receives nitrogenous compounds
34. The distance between two point charges is changed from to . By what factor does the force on
ANSWER:
35. Suppose the charge on one of two charges were doubled. How must the distance between them be changed to
maintain the same force between them?
36. The dome of a van de Graaff generator is spherical with a radius of and it carries a net charge of .
A speck of dust on the surface carrying a charge of is repelled to a distance of from the centre of
the sphere. Find the ratio of the final to the initial force on the speck.
ANSWER:
ROUND 2 - SPEED ROUND
1. Find the work done by a force whose point of application undergoes a displacement of at an
ANSWER:
2. What is the photon energy in eV at the series limit of the Lyman series of hydrogen spectral lines?
ANSWER:
3. What is the range of a projectile launched with a speed of at an angle of above the
horizontal?
ANSWER: (Accept )
4. Which two major groups of organisms make up the bulk of the decomposers?
ANSWER: Bacteria and fungi
5. State the means by which humans become aware of a stimulus?
ANSWER: When nerve impulses travel from a receptor to the brain
6. In herbaceous stems, under what condition do parenchyma cells normally serve as supporting
tissue?
ANSWER: When they become turgid,
7. Carbonium ions are ions containing positively charged carbons. Which carbonium ion is more
stable, methyl or ethyl carbonium ion?
ANSWER: Ethyl ion is more stable
8. What accounts for the greater stability of the ethyl carbonium ion?
ANSWER: Electron donating inductive effect of the methyl group on the positively
charged carbon
9. Complete the following sentence: ‘In chromatography the components of a mixture being
separated are distributed between two phases: …….. phase and ……… phase.
ANSWER: Stationary phase and mobile phase
10. Find the first three terms of the sequence with the given general term Un = 2n + 1.
ANSWER: U1 = 3, U2 = 5, U3 = 7
11. Determine if the point A(1, -1) is on the line 2x – 3y = 5.
ANSWER: The point A is on the line [2(1) – 3(-1) = 2 + 3 = 5]
12. Find the range of the function y = x2 + 4x + 5.
ANSWER: [y = (x + 2)2 + 1, hence y ≥ 1 ]
SOLUTION
a) Rate of change of volume V
V = 4πr3/3
dV/dt = (dV/dr)(dr/dt) (chain rule)
= (4πr2)(dr/dt) (2 MARKS)
TRUE OR FALSE
1. Solid zinc oxide will dissolve in both dilute NaOH and ammonia solution.
ANSWER: True
2. Alums are double salts containing unipositive and tripositive cations.
ANSWER: True
3. The metal used in galvanizing steel is aluminium.
ANSWER: F. It is zinc
4. Many of the structures by which plants reproduce vegetatively are modified roots.
ANSWER: False
5. Bulbs, stolons and tubers are examples of modified leaves that allow plants to reproduce
vegetatively.
ANSWER: False
6. A male gametophyte of a seed plant develops into a pollen grain.
ANSWER: True
7. The maximum value of the function y = x2 + 1 is 1.
ANSWER: False
8. The maximum value of the function y = 1 – x2 is 1.
ANSWER: True
9. The function y = x3 has no maximum value.
ANSWER: True
10. If the distance between the plates of a charged parallel plate capacitor is doubled without losing
any charge, the potential difference across the capacitor remains unchanged.
ANSWER: False
11. If the distance between the plates of a charged parallel plate capacitor is doubled without losing
any charge, the potential difference across the capacitor decreases by a factor of four.
ANSWER: False
12. If the distance between the plates of a charged parallel plate capacitor is halved without losing any
charge, the potential difference across the capacitor increases by a factor of two.
ANSWER: False
13. In a Voltaic cell, the essence of a salt bridge is to allow the electrolytes to mix over a period of
time.
ANSWER: False Salt bridge completes the circuit to allow flow of electrons.
14. In a Voltaic cell, chemical energy is converted into light energy.
ANSWER: False Chemical energy is converted into electrical energy
15. In Voltaic cells, the electrodes always play a role in the chemical transformations.
ANSWER: False In some cases the electrodes are inert
16. The structure and spacing of gill rakers in fishes determine the size of food particles trapped, and
correlates with feeding behavior.
ANSWER: True
17. Fishes with densely spaced, elongated, comb-like gill rakers are less efficient at filtering tiny
prey.
ANSWER: False
18. Carnivorous and omnivorous fishes often have more widely spaced gill rakers with secondary
projections.
True
PREAMBLE: If set A maps into the set B, then;
19. Some members of B are not images of A.
ANSWER: True
20. Some members of A are not members of B.
ANSWER: False
21. The mapping is not one to one.
ANSWER: False
22. When an object falls from rest, it falls the same distance in the first second as in the following
second.
ANSWER: False
23. When an object falls from rest from a high cliff, its speed changes by a smaller amount in the first
second than in the following second.
ANSWER: False
24. When an object falls vertically with a non-zero initial speed, its speed changes by the same
amount in the first second as in the following second.
ANSWER: True
ROUND 5
RIDDLES
RIDDLE 1
1. I am a rather simple device,
2. A transporter you may say;
3. From one vessel to another:
4. My cargo is always fluid,
5. The destination always lower than the port of origination.
Who am I?
ANSWER: Siphon
RIDDLE 2
1. I am an isopod crustacean.
2. I have a shell-like exoskeleton, which I must progressively shed as I grow.
3. I have a lot of common names that vary throughout the English-speaking world
4. Some of my common names include: boat-builder, cheeselog, potato bug, butcher boy, wood
bug.
5. I can roll up into an almost perfect sphere as a defensive mechanism.
6. I am not a wood, neither am I a louse.
Who am I?
RIDDLE 4
ANSWER: Monomial