# Don't Stump the Layman: Science Addition **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 27, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129 "2008-04-27T21:03:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/61 "2008-04-28T04:14:10Z")
[QUOTE=Inner Stickler] 1)Name two types of molecular compounds. 2)Name a group of elements on the periodic table. 3)The atomic number of an element gives what information about that element? 4)What else could you call a hydrogen atom that has lost its electron? [/QUOTE] 1. I’m not exactly sure what you mean about “types of molecular compounds”. Are you speaking about how they bond, like ionic or hydrogen bonds and that sort of stuff? Or any molecular compound like Salt (NaCl) and Water (H2O)? (which is an ionic bond and a hydrogen bond respectively, I believe) 2. Noble Gases; Alkali Metals; Transition Elements… 3. How many protons? 4. Positron? ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/62 "2008-04-28T04:16:23Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] 1. Stomach kicks it off, Duodenum leads to… and this is where I’m taking a stab, jejunum; then ileum then, obviously, colon? (please lord, I don’t ask for much). 2. Hemoglobin contains Iron. 3. The lightest: Helium 4. Mercury; and I think there was a thread just recently that mentioned Bromine? 5. In QM, one can never know the position and the velocity of a sub-atomic particle, such as an electron, at any given moment. The more you detect one aspect, the less you can detect the other. [/QUOTE] 1. Correct! 2. Nice! 3. Si 4. Both are correct. 5. Very nicely done. That’s a +5 right there to my -3, so +2 i believe. Though this means the questions must get harder again! Questions asked: 10 Right: 6 Wrong: 4 Total: 2 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/63 "2008-04-28T04:18:09Z")
^Sweet! 5 for 5! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/64 "2008-04-28T04:20:26Z")
1)Clarification: I’m looking for the names for the two different ways atoms can join to form a molecule. Simply naming a compound won’t count unless you also give me the way in which it bonds. 2)Check 3)Check 4)Bzzzt. A positron is the antimatter counterpart of an electron. A hydrogen atom that has lost its electron is a proton. Questions asked:4 Right:2 Wrong:1 Up-in-the-air:1 Total: +1 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/65 "2008-04-28T04:28:35Z")
[QUOTE=Inner Stickler] 1)Clarification: I’m looking for the names for the two different ways atoms can join to form a molecule. Simply naming a compound won’t count unless you also give me the way in which it bonds. 2)Check 3)Check 4)Bzzzt. A positron is the antimatter counterpart of an electron. A hydrogen atom that has lost its electron is a proton. Questions asked:4 Right:2 Wrong:1 Up-in-the-air:1 Total: +1 [/QUOTE] Gotchya, You must not have caught my edit… I named salt as ionic and water as a hydrogen bond in the parenthesis. Will that work? And DAMN on number 4! I _knew_ that. That’s what I get for rushing it. I was thinking proton = positive. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/66 "2008-04-28T04:33:25Z")
1. What do Plasma B Cells do? 2. Can you name at least 3 phases of Mitosis? 3. What is the effect of NO (nitric oxide) in the human body? 4. What was the name of the boat that Charles Darwin sailed on to the Galapagos Islands? 5. Lichen is a symbiotic relationship between two types of organic organisms, name them. Questions asked: 10 Right: 6 Wrong: 4 Total: 2 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/67 "2008-04-28T04:35:23Z")
Well ionic is right but a hydrogen bond is a weak bond formed with an electronegative atom and a hydrogen atom. It’s the force that makes water molecules stick to other water molecules but doesn’t make the molecules themselves stick together. So unless someone tells me that I’m being a hard-ass, I’ll rescore. Questions asked: 4 Right:2 Wrong:2 Total:0 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/68 "2008-04-28T04:39:53Z")
[QUOTE=RoOsh] 11. What do Plasma B Cells do? 12. Name 3 phases of Mitosis? 13. What is the effect of NO (nitric oxide) in the human body? 14. What was the name of the boat that Charles Darwin sailed on to the Galapagos Islands? 15. Lichen is a symbiotic relationship between two types of organic organisms, name them. Questions asked: 10 Right: 6 Wrong: 4 Total: 2 [/QUOTE] You people and your biology, I LAUGH at your biology. 1. Damn, I can’t remember. 2. Isn’t it considered a pollutant? But I don’t really know. 3. The Beagle! yay. 4. Plant and Animal? (couldn’t be that simple) Ok, maybe I’m not laughing so much. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/69 "2008-04-28T04:41:54Z")
[QUOTE=Inner Stickler] Well ionic is right but a hydrogen bond is a weak bond formed with an electronegative atom and a hydrogen atom. It’s the force that makes water molecules stick to other water molecules but doesn’t make the molecules themselves stick together. So unless someone tells me that I’m being a hard-ass, I’ll rescore. Questions asked: 4 Right:2 Wrong:2 Total:0 [/QUOTE] Wow. Even when you explain it, my head is burning. If you don’t think my answer was close enough to correct, then keep yer score, otherwise, don’t be _too_ hard on yourself! But you leave me curious, what sort of bond is a water molecule. P.S. I actually got the explanation i think, it keeps the water molecules together, but not the hydrogen and oxygen atoms, right? ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/70 "2008-04-28T04:47:19Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] You people and your biology, I LAUGH at your biology. 1. Damn, I can’t remember. 2. Isn’t it considered a pollutant? But I don’t really know. 3. The Beagle! yay. 4. Plant and Animal? (couldn’t be that simple) Ok, maybe I’m not laughing so much. [/QUOTE] Did you even want to take a shot at #11? I’ll wait for you to ring in on that one, but i’ll score the rest: 1. Prophase, anaphase, telophase, Metaphase any of those were fine. 2. NO is a vasodilator - often found in High Blood Pressure Medications to lower BP. 3. Correct! HMS Beagle! 4. Nope. Cyanobacteria/Algae and Fungi (so Plant + Fungus woulda been right) Questions asked: 15 Questions Answered: 14 Right: 7 Wrong: 7 Total: 0 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/71 "2008-04-28T04:53:29Z")
[QUOTE=RoOsh] Did you even want to take a shot at #11? I’ll wait for you to ring in on that one, but i’ll score the rest: **11. What do Plasma B Cells do?** [/QUOTE] Whoops! I totally missed it. Although it’ll probably put you in the hole. 1. Not sure if it has to do with the blood, but it’s the only time I ever hear plasma. I’ve heard white blood cells called T cells. And the only other blood cell I can think of are platelets which induce blood clotting. I’ll go with platelets, although I’m probably way off. ☹ ETA: I couldn’t wait and looked it up. So sorry! Looks like they form in the bone marrow and pump out antibodies. Stoopid biology. Looks like I got some boning up to do (pun intended). ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/72 "2008-04-28T04:59:05Z")
Questions asked: 15 Right: 7 Wrong: 8 Total: -1 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/73 "2008-04-28T05:06:54Z")
_ **Ok, kids, I think that’s enough for tonight… come back tomorrow for some more scintillating trivia.** _ Here’s the [tally](http://goodcomics.com/sdmb/stats_v1.jpg) so far! ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/74 "2008-04-28T05:12:09Z")
Meh, I got bored, so I’ll just give you 5 more… 1. Where are you most likely to find Monotremes on this planet? 2. Explain Chemotaxis. 3. What are the 3 kinds of Muscles, and can you give an example of each? 4. What is the effect of the Vagus Nerve on the Heart? 5. What is the difference between speed and velocity? Questions asked: 15 Right: 7 Wrong: 8 Total: -1 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/75 "2008-04-28T05:34:05Z")
[QUOTE=RoOsh] Meh, I got bored, so I’ll just give you 5 more… 1. Where are you most likely to find Monotremes on this planet? 2. Explain Chemotaxis. 3. What are the 3 kinds of Muscles, and can you give an example of each? 4. What is the effect of the Vagus Nerve on the Heart? 5. What is the difference between speed and velocity? Questions asked: 15 Right: 7 Wrong: 8 Total: -1 [/QUOTE] Ahh, what the hell, 5 for the road… 1. I think I know this: Australia. 2. Isn’t this the locomotion of a cell? 3. Wow. Um… thinking… Fast-twitch, Slow-twitch (?), and involuntary?! I’m guessing quadriceps, biceps, and heart respectively. (I’m sure I made a mess of that.) 4. Causes beating? 5. Hrmm, Speed is the over all movement of something (like the spinning of a wheel on a vehicle), and velocity is the speed of something in a certain direction of motion (how fast that vehicle is moving along a certain axis)? ---
**Author:** ![Maui\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Maui\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maui_Lion)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/76 "2008-04-28T05:34:30Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] 1. Simple explanation is that the make up of our atmosphere happens to be good at absorbing longer wavelengths of light, and scattering/diffusing the shorter, bluish wavelengths. 2. Capillaries and… i got nuthin’ 3. Prism 4. Magma 5. Active: I think it’s in Hawaii… _Mt. Kilauea?_ Inactive: _Yellowstone?_ 6. The Sun 7. Petabyte? 8. Stone age, Neolithic, Umm… GAH! Not even sure I was on the right track there? 9. Osmosis? 10. In heat? [/QUOTE] 11. √ Correct! 12. Capillaries and… i got nuthin’ X Sorry, no. (Answer: Xylem, Phloem) 13. Prism √ Correct! 14. Magma √ Correct! 15. Active: I think it’s in Hawaii… _Mt. Kilauea?_ Inactive: _Yellowstone?_ X Sorry, no. (Answer: Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on earth. Kinda a tricky question, I know.) 16. The Sun √ Correct! 17. Petabyte? √ Correct! 18. Stone age, Neolithic, Umm… GAH! Not even sure I was on the right track there? X Sorry, no. (Answer: Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age. You were on the right track though!) 19. Osmosis? √ Correct! 20. In heat? X Sorry, no. (Answer: The Panthera genus can only purr when exhaling. Hehe, though your answer made me giggle a bit. I’m sure they do a lot of purring in breeding season.. 😉 ) Correct Answers: 6 Incorrect: 4 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/77 "2008-04-28T05:39:52Z")
[QUOTE=Maui Lion] 1. √ Correct! 2. Capillaries and… i got nuthin’ X Sorry, no. (Answer: Xylem, Phloem) 3. Prism √ Correct! 4. Magma √ Correct! 5. Active: I think it’s in Hawaii… _Mt. Kilauea?_ Inactive: _Yellowstone?_ X Sorry, no. (Answer: Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on earth. Kinda a tricky question, I know.) 6. The Sun √ Correct! 7. Petabyte? √ Correct! 8. Stone age, Neolithic, Umm… GAH! Not even sure I was on the right track there? X Sorry, no. (Answer: Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age. You were on the right track though!) 9. Osmosis? √ Correct! 10. In heat? X Sorry, no. (Answer: The Panthera genus can only purr when exhaling. Hehe, though your answer made me giggle a bit. I’m sure they do a lot of purring in breeding season.. 😉 ) Correct Answers: 6 Incorrect: 4 [/QUOTE] It’s times like these I could kick myself. I had, verbatim, **Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age** typed in at one point. Then I figured that couldn’t be it and erased it for fear of shame, as I didn’t think the bronze and iron age were considered pre-historic! Aiight, time for some sleep! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/78 "2008-04-28T05:44:49Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] Wow. Even when you explain it, my head is burning. If you don’t think my answer was close enough to correct, then keep yer score, otherwise, don’t be _too_ hard on yourself! But you leave me curious, what sort of bond is a water molecule. P.S. I actually got the explanation i think, it keeps the water molecules together, but not the hydrogen and oxygen atoms, right? [/QUOTE] Twould be covalent bonds that keep the atoms together. With NaCl, a chlorine atom that has lost an electron and has a positive charge is attracted to a sodium atom that has an extra electron making it negative. Together they are neutral and that bond is called ionic because it is formed between two ions. Covalent bonding, like in water, happens because the oxygen and hydrogen atoms are able to share electrons so that their outermost electron shells are satisfied. Because oxygen has more protons than hydrogen, the electrons tend to congregate around the oxygen atom, making it slightly negative and the hydrogen atoms slightly positive, although together it is still neutral. The slightly positive hydrogen atoms are also attracted to neighboring negative oxygen atoms in other water molecules and this produces the hydrogen bonds you mentioned earlier. Does this fall under the heading of “I asked for this much and you gave me THIS MUCH?” Sorry, I like Chem. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/79 "2008-04-28T07:26:15Z")
I may as well join in: 1. What is the difference between a meteor and a meteorite? 2. The word mammal derives from the name of glands which mammals use to produce what? 3. According to the theory of relativity, what happens to an object’s mass as its speed approaches the speed of light? 4. The sun is approximately \_\_\_ times more massive than Jupiter. (Round your answer to the nearest power of 10.) 5. One of these things is not like the others. Which one? (And why?) Lithium, Helium, Hydrogen, Potassium 6. A scientist has created a machine that can directly convert matter into energy with 100% efficiency. What is the energy produced by converting an object of mass M? 7. The orbit of a planet around a star is what shape if the orbit has eccentricity=0? 8. Place these taxonomic ranks in order from the broadest to the most narrow. Genus, Class, Kingdom, Phylum, Species, Order, Family 9. Name the three geologic periods during which dinosaurs lived. (Order doesn’t matter.) 10. What is the acceleration caused by gravity at sea level on the earth? (Give your answer in ft/s^2 _or_ in m/s^2) ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129/80 "2008-04-28T11:59:45Z")
1. What is a Lagrangian point? 2. What is Cruithne? 3. What is a Hill sphere? 4. What is a Dyson sphere? 5. What is the Chandrasekhar limit? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-stump-the-layman-science-addition/447129.md?page=5)