General Science Quiz #3

Alekhya Kundu
Submitted: May 03, 2025

  1. In 1905, Sir Albert Einstein proposed his theory of the photoelectric effect, which supports the idea that light consists of particles carrying discrete packets of energy. A contemporary physicist disagreed with this theory and designed an experiment to disprove it. However, by accident, he ended up confirming Einstein’s theory instead. As a result, he too was awarded the Nobel Prize for proving the photoelectric effect. Can you name the physicist?


  2. During a severe cholera outbreak in 1971 at a refugee camp in Bangaon, West Bengal, a pioneering pediatrician developed a simple yet life-saving mixture of salt, sugar, and water—now known as Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)—which drastically reduced mortality caused by dehydration and became a global breakthrough in public health. Who was the doctor behind this discovery?


  3. As scientists and engineers learn more about the DNA molecule and find ways to create synthetic versions, they see great promise. A future class of memory known as nucleic acid memory (NAM) storage could offer several advantages. Under one system, a single gram of DNA could store 215 million gigabytes of data. Can you identify the sole reason for this?


  4. Roy Plunkett, while working on a new refrigerant at DuPont, discovered a polymer when he accidentally polymerized the refrigerant he was working with. This resulted in a slippery, non-stick substance now used in various applications, including non-stick cookware. What is the polymer?


  5. This meteor shower forms when the Earth passes through a trail of debris left by Comet Thatcher, a long-period comet. The debris consists of small particles of dust and rock that, upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere, burn up and create the visible streaks of light we see as meteors. Name this meteor shower.


  6. The global production of synthetic fertilizers relies heavily on a process that consumes around 3 percent of the world’s annual energy and significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. This process chemically fixes nitrogen from the air - unlike certain natural organisms that biologically fix nitrogen through a mechanism we still cannot replicate. Name this industrial process remains the cornerstone of global nitrogen fixation.


  7. This object, also known as NGC 2359, is an emission nebula shaped by the powerful winds and radiation of a central Wolf-Rayet star. It is known by another name - can you say what it is?


  8. Which Indian institution is responsible for maintaining SI units, calibrating national measurement standards, providing time signals, and also developed the indelible ink used in Indian elections, - all as part of its efforts to modernize the measurement system post-independence?


  9. Who is the Indian-origin aerospace engineering student at Penn State University who recently upgraded Hermann Glauert’s 1926 aerodynamic equations to improve wind turbine efficiency by incorporating thrust and bending moments using the calculus of variations?


  10. Which device measures physiological responses such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and skin conductivity to analyze how the body reacts under stress—particularly in response to specific questions—in order to assess the likelihood of deception?