The document discusses various science and history related topics in the form of trivia questions. Some of the questions ask the reader to identify people, theories, discoveries and inventions related to fields like physics, biology, astronomy, technology and more.

1. Anna University - Centre for Biotechnology Biotechcellence 2009 Science Quiz – Prelims

2. 1. What has been blanked out?

3. 2. In 1986, Abhay Ashtekar reformulated Einstein's field equations of general relativity. Carlo Rovelli and Lee Smolin used these ‘Ashtekar variables’ to develop a particular representation of quantum general relativity. It is one of the alternatives to String theory in the quest to unify gravity with quantum mechanics. It preserves many of the important features of general relativity, while at the same time employing quantization of both space and time at the Planck scale in the tradition of quantum mechanics. What idea are we talking about?

4. 3. What project was started by Michael Hart (person on the left) in 1971?

5. ** 4. Early European depiction of a plant that was first widely cultivated by the Indus valley civilization. Identify.

6. 5. Identify the author of this book. The book was the first to treat genes as ‘individual entities’ that were arranged linearly like pearls on a string. It is said to have inspired many of the scientists who went on to found the field of molecular biology.

7. 6. Connect the gentlemen on the left with the picture below

8. 7. This is the world’s first all-electric sports car. It runs for 393 km on a single charge, and can accelrate from 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds. Identify the scientist after whom the company is named.

9. 8. On studying his daughter's horoscope, he came to the conclusion that she would be widowed early if her wedding did not take place at the right time. To alert her to the auspicious time, he placed a cup with a small hole in a vessel of water. At the auspicious hour, the cup would begin to sink. His warning that she should not go near this apparatus was not heeded. When his daughter went near to look at it, a pearl from her nose ring accidentally dropped into it and upset it. The wedding took place at the wrong time, and as predicted, the daughter lost her husband very early. Identify father and daughter duo.

10. 9. Coin issued earlier this year to mark the International Year of Astronomy. Who/what achievement does it celebrate?

11. 10. XKCD tribute to what/whom?

12. 11. What do the red dots represent?

13. 12. This concept has been around from the 1960s, and was chiefly espoused by John McCarthy who believed that one day computing would be organised as a public utility. In the 1990s, it was generally used to refer to the large ATM networks. It now refers to the concept of 'software as a service'. An example would be the restructuring of Amazon.com's data centres to build & launch Amazon Web Services. What?

14. ** 13. How do geckos stick to walls?

15. 14. Representation of a famous thought experiment proposed by John Searle. Identify

16. ** 15. Story goes that a colleague of Wolfgang Pauli showed him a paper written by a young physicist which he felt was not of great value. Pauli remarked “ That's not right. It's ___ ____ _____”. Used now to refer to arguments which are based on assumptions known to be incorrect, or to theories that cannot be falsified or used to predict anything.

18. 17. It was formed in Vancouver in 1971, by twelve members of what was formerly called the Don't Make a Wave committee. The organization changed its name to better proclaim the type of world it wanted to help create. Name the organisation.

20. ** 19. The person in the picture is not important. What we want to know is the story of the skull.

21. 20. Used as a laxative for a long time, but mostly stopped now due to carcinogenic concerns. It is also used to test if a sample is blood (Kastle-Meyer test) – a few drops of this along with hydrogen peroxide are added to the sample. This is an important test because it is non-destructive. It is also part of some disappearing inks and as disappearing hair dye on some Barbie dolls. It has a more important scientific use – one familiar to any college chemistry student. What?

22. 21. It was a successor to Earnest Hummel’s Telediagraph . Western Union first used it in 1921, AT&T in 1824 and RCA in 1926. AP first used it in 1935 and this depicted a small plane crash in the Adirondacks. Eduardo Belin’s Belinograph was the basis for the AT&T version of the technology. What?

23. 22. What does this father-daughter pair have to do with science?

24. ** 23. There are actually two of them, and each can withstand temperatures of 1100 degrees Celsius, water pressures at depths of 20,000 feet, and shocks of 3400 Gees per 6.5 milliseconds. The one called the CVR is designed for all ambient noises, including conversation. The other one, the FDR, is actually painted bright orange as a visual aid and can keep track of at least five and as many as hundreds of parameters. What are we talking about?

25. 24. Tree found extensively in the Mojave desert, and named after a biblical character. Also the name of a very famous album by a very famous rock band. Identify.

26. 25. Google doodle marking what celestial event?

27. ** 26. What connects?

28. 27. Animal that serves as the symbol for the International Society for Cryptozoology. Identify

29. 28. It was founded in 1996 by two University of California at Berkeley researchers Eric Brewer and Paul Gauthier. The company's name is derived from a Lakota Indian legend about a trickster spider character known for its ability to defeat larger adversaries through wit and cunning. What company?

30. ** 29. Born in England in 1285, he was the most influential philosopher of the 14th century and a controversial theologian. His teaching had also aroused the attention of Pope John XXII, but soon he became involved in the dispute over apostolic poverty. He fled the papal court at Avignion, to Munich where he wrote fervently against the papacy in a series of treatises on papal power and civil sovereignty. In these writings he used the medieval rule of parsimony, or principle of economy, which said that plurality should not be assumed without necessity . This rule has now been modified and bears his name. He died in 1349, a victim of the Black Death. Give his name or just the village where he was born.

31. 30. There is no explosion inside these engines and so they are very quite and are used in submarines. Invented by a Scottish Reverend in 1816, its efficiency approaches the Carnot efficiency. What?