Science Trivia Challenge!

What is the Science Trivia Challenge?

Quiz Format

Team Registration (see note below)

Event Schedule

Try these Sample Questions

What is the Science Trivia Challenge?

The Science Trivia Challenge is a contest hosted by the MIT Club of Boston that is part of the Cambridge Science Festival, organized annually by the MIT Museum. It's a live team trivia quiz where contestants are challenged on their knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, astronomy, computer science, earth sciences, inventions, local contributions to science and other subjects. The information might be useful or purely trivial and might test knowledge of scientific methods, theories, or history. Teams have to be ready for anything, and any team can win!

The contest is broken into two divisions: a Youth Division, in which teams must consist entirely of students in 12th grade or lower (High School or Middle School); and an Open Division, in which there are no limits on team composition. In each division, the maximum team size is five players. Prizes are awarded to the top teams in each division.The first annual Science Trivia Challenge was held on Wednesday, April 25, 2007. The sixth annual event is currently scheduled for Wednesday, April 25, 2012. We are thrilled that this event will again be moderated by renowned MIT Professor Walter Lewin. Teams are entered on a first-come, first-served basis until the event capacity is reached, so it is best to register early.
The event is organized and run by MIT alumni/ae volunteers, and is funded through the generosity of The Mathworks. If you are interested in volunteering for the event, please e-mail sciencetrivia@mit.edu. We appreciate help in the areas like testing and editing questions, coordinating refreshments for the event, serving as team judges or general staff on the evening of the contest.

Quiz Format

The competition is broken into rounds of 10 questions each. Questions can be multiple-choice, matching, short-answer, or multiple-answer format. Each question is given a point value, with partial credit awarded in some cases.

All teams competing in a given round will be positioned at a table on the stage, with a scorekeeper for each team. When the moderator asks a question, the scorekeepers will give each team an answer sheet with the question printed on it and a place to put the team's answer.

After a question is read, all teams will have a short amount of time to discuss the question, write down a final answer, and hand it to the scorekeeper. After time has expired, the moderator will read the correct answer(s) and the scorekeepers will assign points accordingly.

There will be two Youth Preliminary Rounds with up to 8 teams in each. The higher-scoring teams from each Preliminary Round will meet in the Youth Gold Division Final. The other teams will meet in the Youth Silver Division Final. The respective winners of each of these rounds will win a Grand Prize.

There will be two Open Division Rounds, held consecutively. The team with the highest score after both rounds will also win one of the Grand Prizes.

Team Registration

The following rules will apply to teams:

There is a limit of five players per team at any time. Each team is allowed to register with up to two alternates, but substitutions can only be made between rounds of play.

In the Youth Division, all team members must be at a school level of grade 12 or lower. However, a Youth Division team does not need to be affiliated with any particular school.

In the Open Division, team members may be of any age.

A player can only be a member (or alternate) on one team. Team composition can be changed prior to the start of competition, but players cannot change from one team to another between rounds.

Register your team HERE for the Science Trivia Challenge using MIT's SmarTrans(TM) registration system. There will be space for 16 Youth Division teams and 8 Open Division teams, to be filled on a first-come first-served basis.

The registration fee is $10 for a Youth Division team and $30 for an Open Division team, payable on-line via credit card. This fee reduction from previous years is made possible by our Mathworks sponsors.

Event Schedule

The following is an approximate schedule for the event. This schedule is subject to change.

5:15pm: Team check-in opens
6:00pm: Youth Division Preliminary Rounds A and B
6:50pm: Intermission and word from our Sponsor, Mathworks
7:05pm: Open Division Rounds 1 and 2 (consecutively)
7:50pm: Intermission
8:00pm: Youth Silver Division Final Round

8:20pm: Youth Gold Division Final Round

8:45pm: Awards Ceremony

Youth teams must check in by 5:30pm. Open teams must check in by 6:30pm. Contact sciencetrivia(at)mit.edu with any questions.

Try these questions from past Science Trivia Challenges...

YOUTH DIVISION

1. "Neon" lights are used as advertising symbols all over the world. However, a pure neon lamp with clear glass can emit only light that appears as one color to the human eye. For five points each, match the following elements with the color that its associated lamp emits:

1. hydrogen
2. mercury
3. neon
4. sodium 5. xenon

(a) red-orange
(b) yellow
(c) purple
(d) blue
(e) green

2. Which of these famous people would most likely make use of Bernoulli's principle in their everyday job?

(a) David Blaine
(b) Heidi Klum
(c) Kanye West
(d) Steven Spielberg
(e) Tim Wakefield

3. In 1984, two doctors in Perth, Australia, published their discovery that most stomach ulcers are caused not by stress but by a common spiral-shaped bacterium now known as Helicobacter pylori. This bacterium is able to survive in the human stomach because it releases enzymes that produce what?

(a) ammonia
(b) ethyl alcohol
(c) hydrochloric acid
(d) sodium chloride
(e) valine

4. What was the first element to first be discovered not on the planet Earth? It gets its name from the fact that it was first discovered through a spectral analysis of the sun's chromosphere. It was later found to exist on Earth, mainly as a component of natural gas. Give the exact name or chemical symbol of this element.

OPEN DIVISION

1. X is a fairly common letter to begin drug names. For two points apiece, match the following drugs with they category of drugs they are:

1. Xanax
2. Xeloda
3. Xenical
4. Xifaxan
5. Xylocaine

(a) Anesthetic
(b) Anti-anxiety
(c) Anti-cancer
(d) Anti-obesity
(e) Antibiotic

2. The German scientist Alfred Wegner proposed the continental drift hypothesis in 1912. At the time, he suggested that the Earth at one point contained one land mass called "Pangaea". What was the eleven-letter name he used to describe the single ocean that surrounded this mass?

3. The practice of "stratigraphy" would most commonly be used in which of the following scientific fields?

(a) brain science
(b) genetics
(c) meteorology
(d) paleontology
(e) quantum physics

If you would like to submit questions for the Science Trivia Challenge, please submit them here: submit.

back to top

What is the Science Trivia Challenge?

Quiz Format

Team Registration (see note below)

Event Schedule

Try these Sample Questions

What is the Science Trivia Challenge?

The Science Trivia Challenge is a contest hosted by the MIT Club of Boston that is part of the Cambridge Science Festival, organized annually by the MIT Museum. It's a live team trivia quiz where contestants are challenged on their knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, astronomy, computer science, earth sciences, inventions, local contributions to science and other subjects. The information might be useful or purely trivial and might test knowledge of scientific methods, theories, or history. Teams have to be ready for anything, and any team can win!

The contest is broken into two divisions: a Youth Division, in which teams must consist entirely of students in 12th grade or lower (High School or Middle School); and an Open Division, in which there are no limits on team composition. In each division, the maximum team size is five players. Prizes are awarded to the top teams in each division.The first annual Science Trivia Challenge was held on Wednesday, April 25, 2007. The sixth annual event is currently scheduled for Wednesday, April 25, 2012. We are thrilled that this event will again be moderated by renowned MIT Professor Walter Lewin. Teams are entered on a first-come, first-served basis until the event capacity is reached, so it is best to register early.
The event is organized and run by MIT alumni/ae volunteers, and is funded through the generosity of The Mathworks. If you are interested in volunteering for the event, please e-mail sciencetrivia@mit.edu. We appreciate help in the areas like testing and editing questions, coordinating refreshments for the event, serving as team judges or general staff on the evening of the contest.

Quiz Format

The competition is broken into rounds of 10 questions each. Questions can be multiple-choice, matching, short-answer, or multiple-answer format. Each question is given a point value, with partial credit awarded in some cases.

All teams competing in a given round will be positioned at a table on the stage, with a scorekeeper for each team. When the moderator asks a question, the scorekeepers will give each team an answer sheet with the question printed on it and a place to put the team's answer.

After a question is read, all teams will have a short amount of time to discuss the question, write down a final answer, and hand it to the scorekeeper. After time has expired, the moderator will read the correct answer(s) and the scorekeepers will assign points accordingly.

There will be two Youth Preliminary Rounds with up to 8 teams in each. The higher-scoring teams from each Preliminary Round will meet in the Youth Gold Division Final. The other teams will meet in the Youth Silver Division Final. The respective winners of each of these rounds will win a Grand Prize.

There will be two Open Division Rounds, held consecutively. The team with the highest score after both rounds will also win one of the Grand Prizes.

Team Registration

The following rules will apply to teams:

There is a limit of five players per team at any time. Each team is allowed to register with up to two alternates, but substitutions can only be made between rounds of play.

In the Youth Division, all team members must be at a school level of grade 12 or lower. However, a Youth Division team does not need to be affiliated with any particular school.

In the Open Division, team members may be of any age.

A player can only be a member (or alternate) on one team. Team composition can be changed prior to the start of competition, but players cannot change from one team to another between rounds.

Register your team HERE for the Science Trivia Challenge using MIT's SmarTrans(TM) registration system. There will be space for 16 Youth Division teams and 8 Open Division teams, to be filled on a first-come first-served basis.

The registration fee is $10 for a Youth Division team and $30 for an Open Division team, payable on-line via credit card. This fee reduction from previous years is made possible by our Mathworks sponsors.

Event Schedule

The following is an approximate schedule for the event. This schedule is subject to change.

5:15pm: Team check-in opens
6:00pm: Youth Division Preliminary Rounds A and B
6:50pm: Intermission and word from our Sponsor, Mathworks
7:05pm: Open Division Rounds 1 and 2 (consecutively)
7:50pm: Intermission
8:00pm: Youth Silver Division Final Round

8:20pm: Youth Gold Division Final Round

8:45pm: Awards Ceremony

Youth teams must check in by 5:30pm. Open teams must check in by 6:30pm. Contact sciencetrivia(at)mit.edu with any questions.

Try these questions from past Science Trivia Challenges...

YOUTH DIVISION

1. "Neon" lights are used as advertising symbols all over the world. However, a pure neon lamp with clear glass can emit only light that appears as one color to the human eye. For five points each, match the following elements with the color that its associated lamp emits:

1. hydrogen
2. mercury
3. neon
4. sodium 5. xenon

(a) red-orange
(b) yellow
(c) purple
(d) blue
(e) green

2. Which of these famous people would most likely make use of Bernoulli's principle in their everyday job?

(a) David Blaine
(b) Heidi Klum
(c) Kanye West
(d) Steven Spielberg
(e) Tim Wakefield

3. In 1984, two doctors in Perth, Australia, published their discovery that most stomach ulcers are caused not by stress but by a common spiral-shaped bacterium now known as Helicobacter pylori. This bacterium is able to survive in the human stomach because it releases enzymes that produce what?

(a) ammonia
(b) ethyl alcohol
(c) hydrochloric acid
(d) sodium chloride
(e) valine

4. What was the first element to first be discovered not on the planet Earth? It gets its name from the fact that it was first discovered through a spectral analysis of the sun's chromosphere. It was later found to exist on Earth, mainly as a component of natural gas. Give the exact name or chemical symbol of this element.

OPEN DIVISION

1. X is a fairly common letter to begin drug names. For two points apiece, match the following drugs with they category of drugs they are:

1. Xanax
2. Xeloda
3. Xenical
4. Xifaxan
5. Xylocaine

(a) Anesthetic
(b) Anti-anxiety
(c) Anti-cancer
(d) Anti-obesity
(e) Antibiotic

2. The German scientist Alfred Wegner proposed the continental drift hypothesis in 1912. At the time, he suggested that the Earth at one point contained one land mass called "Pangaea". What was the eleven-letter name he used to describe the single ocean that surrounded this mass?

3. The practice of "stratigraphy" would most commonly be used in which of the following scientific fields?

(a) brain science
(b) genetics
(c) meteorology
(d) paleontology
(e) quantum physics

If you would like to submit questions for the Science Trivia Challenge, please submit them here: submit.

back to top