Science and Technology Quiz Prelims conducted as a part of Gnosis Quiz League,NIT Allahabad.

1. “THE TURING TEST”
PRELIMS
SCI-TECH QUIZ CONDUCTED BY TEAM :
‘SARSON DA SWAG’
-ANUGRAH AGNIHOTRI , SIDDHARTH MITTRA ,
SHUBHAM JAIN
GNOSIS QUIZ LEAGUE , NIT ALLAHABAD

2. RULES
• TEAMS OF MAX 3 .
• WRITE DOWN YOUR TEAM NAME,MEMBER NAMES AND CONTACT DETAILS
• 20 QUESTIONS
• STARRED QUESTIONS TO BE USED AS TIE BREAKERS
• ASK FOR HINTS IF REQUIRED
• ONLY CRYPTIC HINTS SHALL BE GIVEN :P

4. 1) ID this ‘criminal’ from his mug-shot.

5. • Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxic protein produced by
the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and related species.
• Botulinum is the most acutely lethal toxin known, injecting just 40
nanograms of the toxin is lethal in 50% of the primate population in
which it was tested.
• However it is commonly referred by a different name today. What?
2)

6. 3) ID the product created by Elon Musk,
which interests Modi.

7. • Swami Vivekananda, late in the year l895 wrote in a letter to an
English friend, "Mr. X thinks he can demonstrate mathematically that
force and matter are reducible to potential energy. I am to go and see
him next week to get this new mathematical demonstration. In that
case the Vedantic cosmology will be placed on the surest of
foundations."
• ID X. ( Picture of the meet on the next Slide)
4)

9. 5) What does this map represent ?

10. 6 ) What is this paradoxical structure, as shown in
the Nolan movie Inception, known as ?

11. 7) ID the guy in the middle .

12. • Founded in Montreal, Canada, DataWind is a developer of wireless,
web-access products and services.
• Winner of the Shiksha Ratna Award by Digital Learning State
Education Summit 2013 .
• Winner of the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Technology
Achievement Award.
For which product did it receive wide spread acclaim?
8)

13. • I swear by Apollo, and Aesculapius, likewise Hygeia and Panacea, and call
all the gods and goddesses to witness, that I will observe and keep this
underwritten oath, to the utmost of my power and judgment.
• With regard to healing the sick, I will devise and order for them the best
diet, according to my judgment and means; and I will take care that they
suffer no hurt or damage.
• Nor shall any man's entreaty prevail upon me to administer poison to
anyone; neither will I counsel any man to do so.
• Whatever, in the course of my practice, I may see or, whatever I may
happen to obtain knowledge of, if it be not proper to repeat it, I will keep
sacred and secret within my own breast.
• If I faithfully observe this oath, may I thrive and prosper in my fortune and
profession, and live in the estimation of posterity; or on breach thereof,
may the reverse be my fate!
How is the text above known as ?
9)

14. • Currently, X has many applications, ranging from bicycle tires to bullet
proof vests, because of its high tensile strength-to-weight ratio; by
this measure it is 5 times stronger than steel.
• X is synthesized in solution from the monomers 1,4-phenylene-
diamine (para-phenylenediamine) and terephthaloyl chloride in
acondensation reaction yielding hydrochloric acid as a byproduct.
ID X.
10)

15. 11) The 404 page not found of which popular
internet website?

16. 12) Which dubious award did these
discoveries/inventions earn?
• for showing that cows that have names give more milk than cows
that are nameless.
• An alarm clock on wheels runs away onto the floor-and hides, forcing
you to get out of bed.
• for using magnets to overcome gravity and suspend a frog in midair.
• explained the mathematics behind the rate at which beer froth
dissipates.

17. • 2013 – Twitter announced it was changing to a two-tiered service. The free
version “Twttr” would not support vowels and only allow tweets with
consonants, while “Twitter” would become a $5 per month service that
supports any letters your heart desires. “Because our users come first, we
believe that it should always be free to everyone–today and forever,” its
statement read. “We’re doing this because we believe that by eliminating
vowels, we’ll encourage a more efficient and ‘dense’ form of
communication. We also see an opportunity to diversify our revenue
stream.”
• Why didn’t Twttr take off as expected ?
13 ) *

18. • ID the guy encircled in red.
• (The ‘force’ is always with him ! )
• Which event of 1927 does this picture commemorate?
Part points for the two questions.
(Picture on the next Slide)
14) *

20. 15 ) Logo of which product ?

21. • He is the Morningstar Visiting professor at MIT .
• His main area of work is String Theory.
• He was among the first recipients of the Fundamental Physics Prize .
• In 1998 he won the fellowship of the Royal Society on being
nominated by the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
Who is he ?
(Pic on the next Slide)
16 ) *

23. • In the IPO filing for Google in 2004, rather than a typical round-
number amount of money, the company announced its intention to
raise $2,718,281,828.
• Why this seemingly random value?
17)

24. 18 ) *
ID this recipient of India’s highest gallantry award,
the Ashoka Chakra .

25. • X is the trademark for a type of machine-readable optical label
first designed for the automotive industry in Japan.
X became popular outside the automotive industry due to its fast
readability (quick response) and greater storage capacity compared to
standard barcodes. Applications include product tracking, item
identification, time tracking, document management, and general
marketing.
19 )

26. • Shivkar Bāpuji Talpade (1864-1916) was an Indian scholar .
• Talpade lived in Bombay and was a scholar of Sanskrit literature and
the Vedas.
• Inspired by the Vedas, he created his product - Marutsakhā.
• What first in the field of technology is he credited to have done?
(Although the claim is disputed by many.)
20 ) *

27. PRELIMS OVER . Hand over your sheets

28. TIME FOR THE ANSWERS !!

29. 1) ID this ‘criminal’ from his mugshot.

30. ANSWER
• Bill Gates ! (who else)

31. • 2)
• Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxic protein produced by
the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and related species.
• Botulinum is the most acutely lethal toxin known, injecting just 40
nanograms of the toxin is lethal in 50% of the primate population in
which it was tested.
• However it is known for a very different reason today. Why?

32. ANSWER
• BOTOX injections for anti-aging (suppresses wrinkles !)

33. 3)ID the product created by Elon Musk, which
interests Modi.

34. Answer
• POWERWALL - Powerwall is a home battery that charges using
electricity generated from solar panels, or when utility rates are low,
and powers your home in the evening.

35. • 4)
• Swami Vivekananda, late in the year l895 wrote in a letter to an
English friend, "Mr. X thinks he can demonstrate mathematically
that force and matter are reducible to potential energy. I am to go
and see him next week to get this new mathematical
demonstration. In that case the Vedantic cosmology will be placed
on the surest of foundations."
• ID X. ( Picture of the meet on the next Slide)

37. ANSWER
• Nikola Tesla - The great Serbian

38. 5) What does this map represent ?

39. ANSWER
• most-Googled-for object in each country, using the autocomplete
formula of "How much does * cost in [x country]."

40. 6) What is this paradoxical structure, as shown in
the Nolan movie Inception, known as ?

41. ANSWER
• The Penrose stairs or Penrose steps, also dubbed the impossible
staircase, is an impossible object created by Lionel Penrose and his
son Roger Penrose.

42. 7) ID the guy in the middle .

43. ANSWER
• Shiv Nadar founder of HCL

44. • 8 )
• Founded in Montreal, Canada, DataWind is a developer of wireless,
web-access products and services.
• Winner of the Shiksha Ratna Award by Digital Learning State
Education Summit 2013 .
• Winner of the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Technology
Achievement Award.
For which product did it receive wide spread acclaim?

45. ANSWER
• Aakash Tablets

46. • 9 )
• I swear by Apollo, and Aesculapius, likewise Hygeia and Panacea, and call all the
gods and goddesses to witness, that I will observe and keep this underwritten
oath, to the utmost of my power and judgment.
• With regard to healing the sick, I will devise and order for them the best diet,
according to my judgment and means; and I will take care that they suffer no hurt
or damage.
• Nor shall any man's entreaty prevail upon me to administer poison to anyone;
neither will I counsel any man to do so. Moreover, I will give no sort of medicine
to any pregnant woman, with a view to destroy the child.
• Whatever, in the course of my practice, I may see or hear (even when not
invited), whatever I may happen to obtain knowledge of, if it be not proper to
repeat it, I will keep sacred and secret within my own breast.
• If I faithfully observe this oath, may I thrive and prosper in my fortune and
profession, and live in the estimation of posterity; or on breach thereof, may the
reverse be my fate!
How is the text above known as ?

47. ANSWER : Hippocratic Oath

48. • 10 )
• Currently, X has many applications, ranging from bicycle tires to bullet
proof vests, because of its high tensile strength-to-weight ratio; by
this measure it is 5 times stronger than steel.
• X is synthesized in solution from the monomers 1,4-phenylene-
diamine (para-phenylenediamine) and terephthaloyl chloride in
acondensation reaction yielding hydrochloric acid as a byproduct.
ID X.

49. ANSWER
• Kevlar

50. 11) The 404 page not found of which popular
internet website?

51. ANSWER
• IMDB

52. 12) Which dubious award did these
discoveries/inventions earn?
• for showing that cows that have names give more milk than cows
that are nameless.
• An alarm clock on wheels runs away onto the floor-and hides, forcing
you to get out of bed.
• for using magnets to overcome gravity and suspend a frog in midair.
• He explained the mathematics behind the rate at which beer froth
dissipates.

53. ANSWER
• Ig Nobel Awards

54. • 13) *
• 2013 – I’d Like To Buy A Vowel (Twitter): Twitter announced it was
changing to a two-tiered service. The free version “Twttr” would not
support vowels and only allow tweets with consonants, while
“Twitter” would become a $5 per month service that supports any
letters your heart desires. “Because our users come first, we believe
that ‘Y’ should always be free to everyone–today and forever,” its
statement read. “We’re doing this because we believe that by
eliminating vowels, we’ll encourage a more efficient and ‘dense’ form
of communication. We also see an opportunity to diversify our
revenue stream.”
• Why didn’t Twttr take off as expected ??

55. ANSWER
• It was an April Fool’s Prank !

56. • 14) *
• ID the guy encircled in red.
• Which event of 1927 does this picture commemorate?
(Picture on the next Slide)

58. ANSWER
• Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (18 July 1853 – 4 February 1928) was a
Dutch physicist who WON the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics .

59. 15) Logo of which product ?

60. ANSWER
• Raspberry Pi

61. • 16) *
• He is the Morningstar Visiting professor at MIT .
• His main area of work is String Theory.
• He was among the first recipients of the Fundamental Physics Prize .
• In 1998 he won the fellowship of the Royal Society on being nominated by
the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
• He has a very special connection with this city.
Who is he ?
(Pic on the next Slide)

63. ANSWER
• Ashoke Sen – distinguished professor at the Harish-Chandra
Research Institute, Allahabad.
• He is one of signatories among 108 scientists and mathematicians
who issued a public statement against raising intolerance in India in
2015.

64. • 17 )
• In the IPO filing for Google in 2004, rather than a typical round-
number amount of money, the company announced its intention to
raise $2,718,281,828.
• Why this seemingly random value?

65. Answer
• Euler constant ‘e’ = 2.718…..

66. 18 ) *
ID this recipient of India’s highest gallantry award,
the Ashoka Chakra.

67. ANSWER
• Rakesh Sharma, is a former Indian Air Force pilot who flew aboard
Soyuz T-11, launched April 3, 1984, as part of the Intercosmos
programme.

68. • 19 )
• X is the trademark for a type of machine-readable optical label
first designed for the automotive industry in Japan.
X became popular outside the automotive industry due to its fast
readability (quick response) and greater storage capacity compared to
standard barcodes. Applications include product tracking, item
identification, time tracking, document management, and general
marketing.

69. ANSWER
• QR CODES

70. • 20 ) *
• Shivkar Bāpuji Talpade (1864-1916) was an Indian scholar .
• Talpade lived in Bombay and was a scholar of Sanskrit literature and
the Vedas.
• Inspired by the Vedas, he created his product - Marutsakhā.
• What first in the field of technology is he credited to have done?
(Although the claim is disputed by many.)

71. ANSWER
• First airplane