SPS Trivia night

4/10/2026

What animal is the most common school mascot in the US?

Eagle

Which animal is famous for playing dead as a defense mechanism?

Opossum

How many countries are in the UK?

4

In a physics context, what is the value of c?

3×10^8 m/s

What is considered the first phase of mitosis?

Prophase

Who is the only US president to have been a prisoner of war?

Andrew Jackson

During his undergrad years, Dr. Koz was a double major. Besides physics, what was his other major?

Mathematics

In what year did school busses become yellow?

1939

What is the square root of 900?

30

Name a planet that has no moons.

Mercury, Venus

Off of which Australian coast is the Great Barrier Reef located?

Queensland

What is the name for words that sound the same but have different meanings?

Homophone

Regarding Dr. Ryan J. Hooper, what does the “J” stand for?

James

Which US state grows the most apples?

Washington

Which US college is considered the most selective besides Harvard?

CalTech

Which element is most commonly used to create nuclear energy?

Uranium

How many US states share a border with Canada?

13

Which branch of mathematics focuses on vectors, matrices, and linear transformations?

Linear Algebra

In what state would you find Vance Air Force Base?

Oklahoma

What is the second most popular candy to put on a s’more?

Reese’s PB Cup

Which colony was the first to declare independence from King George?

Rhode Island

Regarding Dr. Joseph F. Kozminski, what does the “F” stand for?

Francis

What major animation company did Dr. Chumbley sell a laser to?

Pixar

5 people give each other a present. How many presents are given total?

20

What is the most common element in the human body?

Oxygen

Name one of the two languages featured on the Rosetta Stone.

Egyptian, Greek

What is the sum of the exterior angles of a regular dodecagon?

360

You know him from Ohm’s Law! What is Ohm’s first name?

Georg

How many laws of planetary motion does Kepler have?

3

How many laws of thermodynamics are there?

4

Where were the 2020 Summer Olympics held?

Tokyo, Japan

In what country did the Industrial Revolution begin?

England

Besides green, name a color in the Subway logo.

Yellow, White

The name of which month has the most letters?

September

What is Dr. Chumbley’s undergrad degree in? (specific)

Engineering physics

Regarding former professor Dr. Chuck Crowder, which US military aircraft did he fly in the Air Force?

F4 Phantom

Besides Germany, name a country in the Axis powers during WWII.

Japan, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia

What category do elements like helium, argon, and neon belong to?

Noble gasses

What is the capital of Indiana

Indianapolis

Which fundamental force is responsible for holding atomic nuclei together?

Strong force

Which planet has the fastest rotation period?

Jupiter (10 hrs)

In computing, what does the acronym CPU stand for?

Central Processing Unit

Which famous physicist developed the uncertainty principle?

Werner Heisenberg

What is the largest INTERNAL organ in the human body?

Liver

Which element is the main component of the sun?

Hydrogen

Commonly used in physics, what is another word for perpendicular?

Orthogonal

Which country invented paper?

China

What is the smallest unit of digital information?

Bit

How many Maxwell’s equations are there?

4

What phenomenon explains why a straw would look bent when placed in glass of water?

Refraction

Which US state has the most active volcanoes?

Alaska

Which year was the first iPhone released?

2007

Which gas makes up most of Earth’s atmosphere?

Nitrogen

Which movie features the famous quote, “life finds a way”?

Jurassic Park

Which country consumes the most coffee per capita?

Finland

What is the name of the effect where running clocks move slower?

Time dilation

What particle is exchanged to mediate the EM force?

Photon

Which country has the longest coastline in the world?

Canada

Which metal is liquid at room temperature?

Mercury

Name a chess piece that cannot move diagonally.

Rook, Knight

What is the only US state that begins with the letter H?

Hawaii

What are two circles with the same center called?

Concentric

What is the most common unit for measurement of power?

Watt

What is the only mammal with a shell?

Armadillo

What is the most popular card game in the Lewis physics department?

Euchre

Who created calculus?

Isaac Newton

Sharing a nickname with a building on campus, Operation Overlord was the codename for what allied invasion?

Doomsday (D-Day)

In the game Wheel of Fortune, what can you buy?

Vowels

What is the name for a substance or agent that can cause cancer?

Carcinogen

How many Ivy League schools are there?

8

What is the chemical symbol for tin?

Sn

Which YouTube group rose to fame by posting trickshot videos?

Dude Perfect

What time zone is southern Idaho in?

Mountain

Gangster Al Capone was convicted and sentenced to prison for what crime?

Tax evasion

What is the fastest animal on Earth?

Peregrine falcon

“Busy as a bee” is an example of what?

Simile

What is the name of a substance that counteracts the effects of poison?

Antidote

What scientific theory proposed that the Earth revolves around the sun?

Heliocentric

Aureolin is a shade of what color?

Yellow

What was the name of the peace treaty that ended WWI?

Versailles

In what country is the Chernobyl nuclear power plant located?

Ukraine

In 1962, president Kennedy was shown photographs of Soviet missiles on what island?

Cuba

What is the only kind of snake that builds a nest?

King Cobra

In the context of writing emails for work or school, what does EOD stand for?

End of day

What is the term for a word that is spelled the same forwards and backwards?

Palindrome

What does Pikachu evolve into?

Raichu

Name one of the types of trees in Minecraft.

Oak, Spruce, Birch, Jungle, Acadia, Dark Oak, Mangrove, Azalea, Cherry, Pale Oak

What is the name of the post-mortem examination to discover the cause of death?

Autopsy

Name one of the two countries that the region of Patagonia makes up.

Argentina, Chile

What is the Roman numeral for 100?

C

Which planet has the strongest magnetic field?

Jupiter

What is the term for the study of sound?

Acoustics

What is the name for a material with zero electrical resistance?

Superconductor

What is the most common blood type in humans?

O+

Name one of the two schools that both Dr. Koz and Dr. Hooper attended.

Notre Dame, University of Michigan

Which subatomic particle determines the chemical element?

Proton

What is the SI unit of electric charge?

Coulomb

Based on survey results from both faculty and students in the physics department, name one of the two least liked physics subjects

Astrophysics, Condensed Matter

In the United States, and covering years 1990 to present, what is the average gas price per gallon?

$2.70 per gallon

Out of the SPS eboard members, who is the oldest?

Ruben