CONTEST 2

ROUND 1

CHEMISTRY SET 1

1. How many D electrons does an element with atomic number twenty five possess?
Ans: 5
2. How many p-orbitals will be occupied with paired electrons in an element with atomic
fifteen?

Ans: 3

3. To which period in the periodic table will the element with atomic number thirty-four
belong?
Ans: 4

BIOLOGY SET 1
PREAMBLE: Explain how the following factors affect the rate of diffusion in living cells.
1. Nature of particles
ANSWER: The smaller the particles, the faster they move from one cell to another.
2. Concentration gradient
ANSWER: The greater the difference in concentration of the substances between the two
regions of cells, the greater the rate of diffusion.
3. Temperature.
ANSWER: Molecules move faster when they acquire energy. Hence the rate of diffusion
increases with increased temperature and vice versa.

MATHEMATICS SET 1
PREAMBLE: Find the equation of the line….
1. through the point A(1, 1) and parallel to the line with equation 2x - 3y = 5,
ANSWER: 2x – 3y = -1
[2(1) – 3(1) = -1]
2. through the point B(2, -1) and perpendicular to the line with equation y = -1,
ANSWER: x = 2
3. Through the point C (2, 3) and parallel to the line with equation y = 5.
ANSWER: y=3

PHYSICS SET 1

4. A 0.3 kg object moving at 6.2 m s−1 collides head-on with and becomes embedded in a stationary
object of mass 2.8 kg . Determine the speed of the composite object after the collision.
−1
ANSWER: 0.6 m s
−1 −1
By conservation of linear momentum v=m 1 v 1 / ( m1 +m 2 ) =0.2 kg ×6 m s ÷0.6 kg=2m s
5. A stationary2 kg object spontaneously disintegrates into two pieces and one piece, of mass 3 kg , flies
off with speed 20 m s−1. Find the speed of the other piece.
−1
ANSWER: 8ms
−1 −1
v 2=m1 v 1 /m2=2 kg × 20 m s ÷ 3 kg=8 m s
6. A steel ball of mass 0.08 kg moving at 5 m s−1 collides head-on with a stationary block and stops.
What is the mass of the block if it moves with speed 2 m s−1?
ANSWER: 0.2 kg

MATHEMATICS SET 2
(PREAMBLE) Determine whether the given point is inside, outside or on the given
circle
a. (4, -1): x 2 + y 2 + 6x – 4y – 3 = 0
Ans: outside

b. (-1, 5): x 2 + y 2 + 4x – 6y – 25 = 0
Ans: inside

c. (-1, 4) : x 2 + y 2 + 10x – 6y + 21 = 0
Ans: outside

CHEMISTRY SET 2
1. In an organic reaction, 46g of ethanol was oxidised, yielding 48g of ethanoic acid.

What is the percentage yield of this preparation? Ethanol = 46; Ethanoic acid = 60

Ans: 46g of ethanol ≡ 60g of ethanoic acid

Hence %yield = (48/60)*100
 = 80
2. 27g of an impure magnesium metal were heated in steam to give 30g of

magnesium oxide. What is the percent purity of the metal [Mg= 24, MgO= 40]

Give your answer to one place of decimal.

Ans: 40g of MgO ≡ 24g of Mg
30g of MgO ≡ 18g of Mg
Hence %purity = (18/27)*100 = 66.7%
3. When 90g of copper (II) Oxide were reduced to metallic copper, only 64g of

metallic copper was obtained. What was the percentage purity of the oxide? Cu =

64g; O = 16. Give your answer to one place of decimal.

Ans: 64g of Cu ≡ 80g of CuO.

Hence %Purity = (80/90)*100
= 88.9

BIOLOGY SET 2

.Give one feature each that distinguishes a berry from a drupe fruit
Ans:

1. Berries possess numerous seeds

2. Berries possess placenta

3. Berries have succulent endocarp

4. Berries have fused epicarp and mesocarp

PHYSICS SET 2
1. A man stands 5 meters in front of a plane mirror and sees the image of a window which
is 1.5 meters behind him. How far is the image of the window from the man?

Answer: 11.5 m
 2. A man stands 5 m in front of a plane mirror. He moves a certain distance towards the
mirror and the distance between him and his image in the mirror is 7 m. What distance
did the man move?

Answer: 1.5 m

3. A man stands at a certain distance in from of a plane mirror. He moves 2 m away from
the mirror and discovered that the distance between him and his image in the mirror is
19 m. What was the man’s initial position?

Answer: 7.5 m.

ROUND 2 (SPEED RACE)

1. What name is given to the process that takes place when organic
compounds are broken down in the absence of oxygen?
ANSWER: Fermentation

2. What type of respiration must follow glycolysis to maximize ATP

production?
ANSWER: Aerobic respiration

3. What is the extension of a spring with stiffness when it stores 2

J of energy?
ANSWER: 20 cm

4. What type of lens is needed for correction of astigmatism?

ANSWER: Cylindrical

5. Find the measure of the interior angle of a regular polygon of 15

sides
ANSWER: 156 degrees [180 – 360/15 = 180 - 24 =
156 ]

6. State Henry’s Law.

ANSWER: Henry's Law states that at a constant temperature,
the amount of gas dissolved in a liquid is directly proportional to the
partial pressure of that gas above the liquid.

7. What is the probability that the offspring of a homozygous dominant

individual and homozygous recessive individual will exhibit the
dominant Phenotype?
ANSWER: 1 (100%)

8. Sodium-18 decays by proton emission. What is the isotope produced in

its decay?
ANSWER: Neon-17

9. What colour is produced by mixing red light and green light of equal
intensity?
ANSWER: Yellow
Solve the absolute value equation

10. | 3x + 9 | > 12
ANSWER: x > 3 or x < -7

11. 300cm3 of 0.15 moldm-3 HCl solution are thoroughly mixed with
200 cm3 of 0.20 moldm-3 of NaOH solution.
Calculate the of moles of NaCl formed
ANSWER: HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H2O
Moles of HCl = (300/1000) x 0.15 = 0.045
Moles of NaOH = (200/1000) x 0.20 = 0.040
Moles of NaCl = 0.040

( )
5
1
12. Differentiate withrespect ¿ x the expression y = x −
x

( )( )
4
dy 1 1
Ans : =5 1+ 2 x −
dx x x

TRUE OR FALSE

1. In general carnivores have longer digestive system than herbivores

A s: F
2. In mammals, the urogenital products are separated from faecal matter in
the small intestine
Ans: F
3. Single celled organisms digest their food intracellularly (True)
4. Methane will have larger induced dipole-induce dipole forces than butane.

Ans: F the larger the molecule the greater the van der Waal forces.

5. There is hydrogen bonding in gaseous HCl

Ans: F Cl is not electronegative enough.

6. Whereas H2O has higher boiling point than H2S, CH4 has a lower boiling than SiH4.

Ans: T Boiling point of H2O is anomalous because of H- bonding.

7. Sodium trioxonitrate V decomposes on heating to give sodium oxide and NO2

Ans: F Products NaNO2 + O2

8. Magnesium trioxonitrate V decomposes on heating to give magnesium oxide,

nitrogen (II) oxide and oxygen

Ans: F Products: MgO, NO2, and O2.

9. Lithium trioxonitrate V decomposes on heating to give lithium oxide, nitrogen (IV)

oxide

Ans: F Products: Li2O, NO2, and O2. Oxygen gas missing.

10. A quadratic function has either a maximum point or a minimum point but not both
ANSWER: TRUE

11. A cubic function may have neither a maximum point nor a minimum point

ANSWER: TRUE

12.. A point of inflexion is a stationary point

ANSWER: FALSE
13. The absolute refractive index of a medium equals the ratio
of the velocity of light in vacuum to the velocity of light in the
medium. ANSWER: True

14. The speed of light in vacuum is the same for all wavelengths
in the electromagnetic spectrum. ANSWER: True

15. The speed of light in glass is the same for all wavelengths in
the electromagnetic spectrum. ANSWER: False

16. The heat capacity of a body is the heat required for a unit
change in temperature of the body.
ANSWER: True
17. The SI unit of heat capacity is . Jkg
ANSWER: False

18. The heat capacity of a body depends on the mass of the

body and the substance it is made of.
ANSWER: True

19. The point (2, -3) is in the second quadrant.

ANSWER: False
20. The point (4, 0) is in the first quadrant. ANSWER: False

21. The distance between the points (a, b) and (c, d) is

√(( a−b ) + ( c−d ) ) ANSWER: False
2 2

22. A population evolves when individuals that have the same

phenotypes survive and reproduce.
ANSWER: False (different genotypes

23. For a population to evolve its members must possess

genetic variation. ANSWER: True

24. Mutation is the origin of genetic variation.

ANSWER: True

ROUND 4 RIDDLE
Riddle #1
1. I am a group of lines in the spectrum of an atom.
2. I am described by a term formula that was discovered in
1885.
3. My series limit as given by the Rydberg formula is one-
quarter the Rydberg constant.
4. I am the only group of hydrogen atom spectral lines with
visible wavelengths.
5. My first term corresponds to a red wavelength.
Who am I?
ANSWER: Balmer series (or Balmer lines)

Riddle #2
1. I am used to describe various features or structures in
organisms.
2. In the brain, I am a stalk-like structure composed of white
matter, connecting various regions of the brain.
3. In fishes, I am the narrow part of the body to which the tail
attaches.
4. I am also used to refer to a stalk supporting an animal organ,
such as the eyestalk of a lobster.
5. But, I am commonly used to describe a stalk supporting an
inflorescence. Who am I?
ANSWER: Peduncle

Riddle #3
1. I am a sudden digression or change of course.
2. I am a trigonometric ratio involving the legs of a right angle
triangle.
3. I am the part of a survey line that is straight.
4. I am a straight line touching a curve without crossing it.
5. As a trigonometric entity, I am the ratio ‘opposite/adjacent’.
Who am I?
ANSWER: Tangent

Riddle #4
1. I occur in the uncombined state in most meteorites
2. Man and I became friends more than 4000 years ago
3. I am a metallic element present in several ores
4. To be extracted from my ores there has to be a reduction
reaction
5. When I am freshly out of the furnace I resemble a pig
6. When my carbon impurity is reduced to 1.5 percent or below
I call myself steel. Who am I?
ANSWER: Iron