MIT SCIENCE BOWL 2022 ROUNDS 1, 2, and 3

1) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice Which of the following statements is true when the pH of a solution increases by 1? W) The concentration of H+ doubles X) The concentration of H+ increases tenfold Y) The concentration of OH– doubles Z) The concentration of OH– increases tenfold

Z) The concentration of OH– increases tenfold

1) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice Which of the following acidic solutions has the greatest percentage dissociation of the acid? W) 0.1 molar acetic acid solution X) 1 molar acetic acid solution Y) 0.1 molar trifluoroacetic acid solution Z) 1 molar trifluoroacetic acid solution

Y) 0.1 molar trifluoroacetic acid solution

2) MATH Short Answer What quadrant would contain the angle measuring 1300 degrees in standard position?

Quadrant III (ACCEPT: 3)

"2) MATH Short Answer If log2 log3 log4 x = 0 (read: log base two of log base three of log base four of x equals zero)

then what is the value of x?"

"3) ENERGY Multiple Choice The Gehring Lab at MIT is studying gene imprint- ing in the endosperm

a plant structure that typically has which of the following polyploidys? W) n X) 2n Y) 3n Z) 4n"

"3) ENERGY Short Answer The Jaenisch Lab at MIT was one of the pioneers of reprogramming iPSCs

and even used iPSCs to treat a disease in mice. What is the term for this disease characterized by abnormal hemoglobin

4) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice Which of the following interactions found in the ter- tiary structure of proteins is the strongest? W) Van der Waals interactions X) Hydrogen bonding Y) Disulfide bridges Z) Ionic interactions

Y) Disulfide bridges

4) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice Which of the following can be classified as a fibrous protein? W) Collagen X) Hemoglobin Y) Albumin Z) Oxytocin

W) Collagen

5) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following types of dunes is formed when wind direction is variable? W) Barchan X) Longitudinal Y) Transverse Z) Star

Z) Star

"5) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer By name or number

order the following three igneous rocks from fastest to slowest cooling time during formation: 1) Obsidian 2) Granite 3) Rhyolite"

"6) PHYSICS Short Answer Galileo drops a ball from the top of a tower

and it takes 2 seconds for the ball to reach the ground. If the Earth’s gravity were suddenly doubled

"6) PHYSICS Short Answer Two cylinders are similar with a 1 to 2 ratio; the dimen- sions of one cylinder are exactly twice the dimensions of the other. Anka pours the same amount of water into each cylinder

and neither overflows. What is the ratio of the water pressure at the bottom of the larger cylinder to the water pressure at the bottom of the smaller cylinder?"

7) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice Which of the following factors most commonly leads to speciation? W) Geographic barriers X) Polyploidy Y) Sexual selection Z) Infertility

W) Geographic barriers

7) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice Which of the following conditions is present in Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium? W) Migration X) Nonrandom mating Y) Large population Z) Random mutations

Y) Large populations

8) MATH Multiple Choice Which of the following functions does NOT have an in- verse? W) y = x3 X) y = arctan x Y) y = arcsin x Z) y = ⌊x⌋(read: y equals the floor of x)

Z) y = ⌊x⌋

8) MATH Short Answer How many sets of single-digit positive integers contain at least one odd and at least one even number?

465

"9) ENERGY Short Answer MIT physicists at the LIGO Lab have used black holes to search for ultralight bosons such as the hypothetical axion. If these particles existed

they would make up what hypothetical substance

"9) ENERGY Short Answer Scientists at MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center are studying the usage of tokamak (TOW-kuh-mack) devices to magnetically confine plasma composed of deuterium and tritium for fusion. In addition to energy

the fusion of deuterium and tritium produces helium-4 and what other nuclear product?"

10) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice Which of the following molecules is nonpolar? W) NH3 X) PBr5 Y) SO2 Z) ClF5

X) PBr5

"10) CHEMISTRY Short Answer By name or number

identify all of the following three statements which are true about fluorine: 1) Fluorine’s elemental form is the strongest oxidizing agent compared to other elements 2) Fluorine is the element with the greatest electronegativity 3) Fluorine is the element with the most negative electron affinity"

"11) PHYSICS Short Answer A solenoid inductor has 100 coils over a length of 1 centimeter. The solenoid is then stretched to a length of 2 centimeters

without changing its cross-sectional area. By what factor does the inductance of the solenoid change?"

"11) PHYSICS Short Answer Suppose the xy-plane has a uniform

nonzero charge density. What is the ratio of the magnitude of the electric field at z = 3 meters to that at z = 1 meter?"

"12) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer By name or number

identify all of the following three types of moraines that run parallel to the direction of movement of glaciers: 1) Lateral moraine 2) Medial moraine 3) Terminal moraine"

12) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following processes is NOT a way which air can be forced to rise? W) Orographic lifting X) Frontal wedging Y) Evaporative cooling Z) Convergence of air

Y) Evaporative cooling

"13) BIOLOGY Short Answer By name or number

identify all the following three groups of animals that have limbs with digits: 1) Frogs 2) Turtles 3) Mammals"

"13) BIOLOGY Short Answer What taxonomic class does the sand cat

Felis mar- garita

14) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Valley networks on the surface of Mars are thought to have been formed by which of the following? W) Wind X) Tectonic activity Y) Flowing water Z) Volcanism

Y) Flowing water

14) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name of the region on the HR diagram where a combination of size and temperature causes stars to become unstable and pulsate?

Instability strip

15) PHYSICS Multiple Choice Which of the following is the SI unit of capacitance? W) Ohm X) Farad Y) Henry Z) Maxwell

X) Farad

"15) PHYSICS Multiple Choice In a driven series RLC circuit

the voltage across the inductor is proportional to which of the following? W) Current squared X) Inverse of inductance Y) Second derivative of charge on the capacitor Z) Voltage across the battery"

"16) ENERGY Short Answer Researchers in the Lippard group at MIT have developed a fluorescent sensor to detect minute concentrations of NO

nitric oxide

"16) ENERGY Short Answer Researchers in the Schrock group at MIT have discov- ered a method of catalytically reducing dinitrogen to ammonia at room temperature and pressure using molybdenum complexes. In the half-reaction for the reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia

how many electrons are transferred per molecule of dinitro- gen?"

"17) MATH Short Answer If four friends of different heights are arranged randomly in a line

what is the probability that they are in order of either increasing or decreasing height?"

17) MATH Multiple Choice A real-valued polynomial with degree 5 has no repeated real roots. What is the sum of the possible numbers of real roots that it can have? W) 6 X) 9 Y) 12 Z) 15

X) 9

18) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice Which of the following nuclear decay modes is plutonium-242 most likely to undergo? W) Alpha decay X) Beta minus decay Y) Beta plus decay Z) Electron capture

W) Alpha decay

18) CHEMISTRY Short Answer The nuclear decay pathway of plutonium-242 to lead-206 involves a mix of alpha and beta decays. How many alpha decays occur during this decay process?

9

"19) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What type of galaxy does the Faber-Jackson (FAY-bur JACK-suhn) relation apply to

setting the luminosity of the galaxy pro- portional to the fourth power of the central stellar velocity dispersion?"

19) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the apparent magnitude of a star that has 100 times the flux of Vega?

−5

20) MATH Multiple Choice Consider the sequence of 10 numbers where the n-th number represents the number of positive integer factors of n. What is the mode of this sequence? W) 1 X) 2 Y) 3 Z) 4

X) 2

"20) MATH Short Answer The math

science

"21) PHYSICS Multiple Choice A cannonball is launched from ground level at a 60 degree angle to the ground

with velocity of 6 meters per second. In meters per second

"21) PHYSICS Short Answer An ideal

frictionless pulley consists of a massless string connecting two masses of 3 and 4 kilograms. What is the magnitude of the acceler- ation of the 4-kilogram mass in meters per second squared?"

"22) CHEMISTRY Short Answer By name or number

rank the following three emis- sions from a hydrogen atom by increasing wavelength: 1) n = 4 to n = 2 2) n = 4 to n = 1 3) n = 6 to n = 5"

"22) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice Which of the following sets of quantum numbers is NOT possible? W) n = 2

l = 0

23) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice Which of the following traits is NOT a derived trait of chordates (CORE-dates)? W) Notochord X) Pharyngeal (fur-IN-jee-uhl) slits Y) Post-anal tail Z) Limb buds

Z) Limb buds

"23) BIOLOGY Short Answer By name or number

identify all of the following five organisms that are deuterostomes (DOO-tuhr-uh-stowmz): 1) Humans 2) Snails 3) Nematodes 4) Earthworms 5) Jellyfish"

1) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice At which of the following latitudes would you expect the greatest length of time between sunrise and sunset on December 21st? W) 75 degrees north X) 30 degrees north Y) 30 degrees south Z) 75 degrees south

Z) 75 degrees south

1) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following statements best explains why the S wave shadow zone is much larger than the P wave shadow zone? W) S waves move slower than P waves X) S waves are refracted more by the outer core than P waves Y) S waves cannot travel through the liquid outer core Z) S waves have more energy than P waves

Y) S waves cannot travel through the liquid outer core

"2) MATH Short Answer By name or number

identify all of the following three values that are possible values for the number of solutions for three linear equations in three variables: 1) Zero solutions 2) One solution 3) Two solutions"

2) MATH Short Answer What is the area bounded by the parabolas y = 4 −x2 and y = x2 −4?

64/3

3) CHEMISTRY Short Answer What naturally occurring allotrope of carbon is the most thermodynamically stable at STP?

Graphite

"3) CHEMISTRY Short Answer What is the orbital hybridization of the carbon atoms in graphite and diamond

respectively?"

4) PHYSICS Short Answer The muon decays via which fundamental force?

"Weak (ACCEPT: Weak interactions

"4) PHYSICS Multiple Choice The final decay products of a muon are which of the following? W) A W-minus boson X) An antimuon and a photon Y) An electron

an electron antineutrino

5) ENERGY Short Answer Researchers in the Yilmaz Lab at MIT have discovered that Paneth cells in the small intestine augment stem-cell function based on caloric intake. An increase in caloric intake will induce the small intestine to release what hunger suppressing hormone?

Peptide YY (ACCEPT: PYY)

"5) ENERGY Short Answer Researchers in the Yilmaz Lab at MIT have discovered that blocking enzymes in a tryptophan (TRIP-tuh-fan) biosynthetic pathway caused preferential death of certain colon cancer cells. What vitamin can be produced from a tryptophan biosynthetic pathway

whereby the indole moiety (MOY-uh-tee) is converted to a pyridine moiety?"

"6) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice In a situation where a mother has a trait and all of her children are male

which of the following inheritance patterns always resembles a mitochondrial inheritance pattern? W) Autosomal recessive X) Autosomal dominant Y) X-linked recessive Z) X-linked dominant"

6) BIOLOGY Short Answer One difference between long interspersed nuclear ele- ments and short interspersed nuclear elements is the presence of the coding sequence of what enzyme that facilitates the amplification of retrotransposons (tran-SPOW- saanz)?

Reverse transcriptase

7) MATH Short Answer Each of the 50 states in the US has a different 2-letter abbreviation. How many sequences of 2 letters are NOT state abbreviations?

626

"7) MATH Short Answer By name or number

identify all of the following three sets that are countably infinite: 1) The set of all rationals 2) The set of all points on a 2D plane 3) The set of all even integers"

8) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT a method through which rock can melt to form magma? W) Decrease in pressure X) Increase in temperature Y) Addition of volatiles Z) Removal of mafic (MA-fik) minerals

Z) Removal of mafic minerals

8) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following terms best describes a fold whose axial plane is horizontal to the ground? W) Isoclinal X) Plunging Y) Recumbent Z) Ptygmatic (TIG-matic)

Y) Recumbent

9) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice Which of the following functions is NOT one belonging to the central vacuole? W) Protection from mechanical damage X) Breakdown of waste products Y) Hydrolysis of macromolecules Z) Storage of pigments

W) Protection from mechanical damage

"9) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice One of the functions of the smooth ER is detoxification of barbiturates. In liver cells

this process is mediated by adding what functional group to drug molecules to make them more soluble? W) Methyl X) Hydroxyl Y) Carboxyl Z) Sulfhydryl"

"10) CHEMISTRY Short Answer By name or number

identify all of the following three elements that occur naturally in their diatomic form: 1) Hydrogen 2) Helium 3) Nitrogen"

10) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice Which of the following elements has the lowest boiling point? W) Hydrogen X) Helium Y) Nitrogen Z) Oxygen

X) Helium

"11) PHYSICS Short Answer A uniform rope with a linear density of 0.1 kilograms per meter and a length of 2 meters is hung vertically from a ceiling. In newtons

what is the tension at the top of the rope?"

"11) PHYSICS Multiple Choice Joe throws a modern discus

which is a uniform disc with a radius of 10 centimeters and a weight of 2 kilograms. What is the moment of inertia in kilogram meters squared when the disc is rotated around any point on the circumference

12) ENERGY Multiple Choice Physicists at MIT have observed that ultracold su- perdense lithium atoms are less able to scatter light compared to lithium atoms at standard conditions. This likely occurs because the electrons are all at low energy states and cannot absorb the light to switch to other states because of which of the following phenomena? W) Pauli exclusion principle X) Bose-Einstein superfluidity Y) Zeeman effect Z) Planck’s law

W) Pauli exclusion principle

"12) ENERGY Short Answer Physicists at MIT’s Laboratory for Nuclear Science are looking for evidence of mysterious particles

called X particles

"13) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice Which of the following statements about actin molecules is NOT true? W) Filaments are composed of three intertwined strands of actin X) In muscle contraction

they form a cross bridge within myosin Y) In cell division

13) BIOLOGY Short Answer What term is used to describe a plant cell in an isotonic environment?

Flaccid

14) MATH Short Answer What is 80% of 120% of 25?

24

14) MATH Multiple Choice Which of the following best describes the shape of the polar plot of r = csc θ (read: r equals cosecant of theta)? W) Spiral X) Circle Y) Parabola Z) Line

Z) Line

"15) CHEMISTRY Short Answer By name or number

rank the following three ele- ments by increasing atomic radius: 1) Argon 2) Xenon 3) Krypton"

"15) CHEMISTRY Short Answer If the initial half-life of a second order reaction is 1 minute

how many minutes will it take for the starting material to reach one sixteenth of its starting concentration?"

16) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following isotopes is NOT hypothesized to have been created by Big Bang nucleosynthesis? W) Hydrogen-2 X) Helium-4 Y) Lithium-7 Z) Beryllium-8

Z) Beryllium-8

"16) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following terms best de- scribes a large group of non-gravitationally bound halo stars in the Milky Way

each with masses of approximately 10 solar masses

"17) ENERGY Short Answer Researchers in the Drennan group at MIT are combin- ing X-ray crystallography with other biophysical methods to gain a better under- standing of molecular processes. During X-ray crystallography

atoms scatter X-ray waves

"17) ENERGY Short Answer Researchers in the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at MIT are investigating the tritium breeding capabilities of the molten salt FLiBe

a mixture of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride. When a high-energy neutron from fusion plasma interacts with the lithium-6 in FLiBe

"18) PHYSICS Multiple Choice A satellite is in a circular orbit around a planet. Over a long time

air friction dissipates some of its energy as heat. This happens slowly enough that the orbit remains approximately circular at all times. Which of the following best describes the change in the satellite’s orbit? W) Its velocity decreases

"18) PHYSICS Short Answer A star can be modeled as a uniform sphere of radius 200

000 kilometers

19) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The Jupiter trojans are a group of asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun. Each trojan librates (LIE-brates) 60 degrees ahead or behind the planet. Which two Lagrangian (luh-GRAWN-gee-uhn) points of the Jupiter-Sun system do trojans congregate in?

L4 and L5

"19) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What metric best describes an uncharged

rotating blackhole?"

20) MATH Multiple Choice How many noncongruent triangles with integer side lengths have total perimeter 6? W) 0 X) 1 Y) 2 Z) 3

X) 1

20) MATH Short Answer The corners of an equilateral triangle of side length 8 are cut off by straight lines to form a regular hexagon. What is the area of this hexagon?

32

21) CHEMISTRY Short Answer What amount of translational energy is required for the molecules in a reaction to pass through the transition state and form the end-products?

Activation energy

"21) CHEMISTRY Short Answer Consider the reaction for the combustion of liquid propane with oxygen gas to yield gaseous carbon dioxide and gaseous water. By name or number

identify all of the following three statements that are true regarding this reaction: 1) If gaseous propane is reacted instead

"22) BIOLOGY Short Answer Alberto is the unfortunate victim of the genetic disease Albertism. While he has no children of his own

he knows that half of his brothers but none of their sons suffer from the disease

"22) BIOLOGY Short Answer Alberto’s only sister

Alberta

23) PHYSICS Short Answer An object’s position changes with time according to the equation x(t) = 2t3 −6t2 + 4t + 6. At what times does the object experience no acceleration?

t = 1

"23) PHYSICS Short Answer A hypothetical planet has a mass of 3 times that of the Earth and a radius of 1.5 times that of the Earth. As a decimal to the nearest tenth

what is the ratio of the escape speed at the surface of this planet to that at Earth’s surface?"

"1) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer By name or number

order the following three eons from most ancient to most recent: 1) Archean 2) Proterozoic 3) Hadean"

1) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Phytoplankton in the open ocean release sulfate aerosols which can act as condensation nuclei. Which of the following changes would you expect to occur if a large algal bloom were to occur in the open ocean? W) Decrease in cloud cover X) Increase in the Earth’s albedo Y) Increased rain pH Z) Increased upwelling in the ocean

X) Increase in the Earth’s albedo

"2) PHYSICS Short Answer By name or number

identify all of the following three changes that would increase the resistance of a metallic resistor: 1) Stretching to increase the length while keeping the volume constant 2) Increasing the temperature of the resistor

"2) PHYSICS Short Answer A square loop of wire in the xy-plane has a side length of 2 centimeters and a resistance of 10−4 ohms. A uniform magnetic field starts at 0 teslas and increases uniformly over 2 seconds until it reaches a value of 3 teslas in the positive z direction. While the magnetic field is turning on

what is the magnitude of the induced current in the wire in amperes?"

"3) ENERGY Short Answer The Davis Lab at MIT is working on coupling pulse- labeling with quantitative mass spectrometry

which can detect the synthesis and degradation rates of proteins. Protein degradation is known to be promoted by E3 ligases through the attachment of what molecule?"

"3) ENERGY Multiple Choice Researchers in the Davis Lab at MIT also develop analytical methods for investigating macromolecular machines

such as with single particle cryo-EM data. Though still a relatively recent tool

"4) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice Because elemental chlorine gas is highly corrosive

it is often generated in small amounts in the laboratory rather than being bought and used directly. Which of the following methods could be used to generate chlorine gas? W) Addition of concentrated sulfuric acid to a solution of sodium hypochlorite X) Addition of concentrated hydrochloric acid to a solution of sodium hypochlorite Y) Addition of concentrated sulfuric acid to a solution of sodium chloride Z) Addition of concentrated hydrochloric acid to a solution of sodium chloride"

"4) CHEMISTRY Short Answer When gaseous nitrogen dioxide is stored in a closed container

it establishes an equilibrium with its dimer