CONTEST 42

ROUND 1

PREAMBLE: For temperatures close to the ice point, the speed of sound in dry air is approximately
given by v=331 m s−1 +0.6 T m s−1 ℃−1 where T is the temperature of the air in degrees Celsius.
1. What is the speed of sound in dry air at 20 ℃ ?
ANSWER: 343 m / s
2. What is the speed of sound in dry air at −10 ℃?
ANSWER: 325 m / s
3. At what temperature is the speed in dry air 340 m / s?
ANSWER: 15 ℃
PREAMBLE: Find the measure of the smaller angle between the hands of a clock when the time is
4. 12.30 pm
ANSWER: 165° [180 – ½ (30) = 180 – 15 = 165]
5. 3.30 pm
ANSWER: 75° [90 – ½ (30) = 90 – 15 = 75]
6. 10.30 am
ANSWER: 135 [90 + 30 + 15 = 135]
PREAMBLE: Distinguish between arteries and veins with respect to the following.
7. Thickness of wall.
ANSWER: Arteries have thicker walls than veins
8. Valves
ANSWER: Arteries lack valves whereas veins have valves
9. Size of lumen
ANSWER: Arteries have smaller lumen than veins
10. Calculate the mass in grams of lithium metal that will be liberated when molten lithium chloride is
electrolyzed with 0.15 Faraday of charge . Li = 7.0
ANSWER: LiCl + 1F → Li + ½ Cl2
1F ≡ 1 mole Li = 7 g Li
Therefore, 0.15F = (0.15/1*7)g = 1.05g
11. Calculate the mass in grams of aluminium metal that will be liberated when molten alumina is
electrolyzed with 0.12 Faraday of charge. Al = 27
3
ANSWER: Al2O3 + 6F → 2Al + /2O2.

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 6F ≡ 2Al
0.12
Therefore mass of Al to be liberated by 0.12F = /6*2*27
= 1.08g of Al
3
12. Calculate the charge in Faraday required to liberate 4.48dm of chlorine gas at STP when
concentrated sodium chloride solution is electrolyzed using carbon electrodes.
ANSWER: At the anode:
2Cl- + 2F → Cl2 (22.4 dm3 at STP).
22.4 dm3 of Cl2 at STP ≡ 2F of charge
Therefore, 4.48 dm3 at STP = 4.48
/22.4*2F = 0.4F.
PREAMBLE: A thin rectangular plate of dimensions 2 cm× 5 cmhas mass 0.100 kg . When one face of
the plate is uniformly coated with a thin layer of copper, the mass of the plate is measured to be 0.109 kg .
The density of copper isapproximately9000 kg / m 3.
13. What is the area of the plate in m 2?
−3 2 2
ANSWER: 1 0 m =0.001 m
14. What is the volume of copper deposited on the plate?
−6 3 3
ANSWER: 10 m =1 c m
3 −6 3
V =M / ρ=( 0.109 kg−0.1 kg ) ÷ 9000 kg / m =10 m
15. What is the thickness of the copper layer?
ANSWER: 1 mm
t=10−6 m3 ÷ ( 10−3 m2 ) =10−3 m=1 mm
PREAMBLE: Find the derivative of the given function:
16. y = (1 – 3x)7
ANSWER: dy/dx = -21(1 – 3x)6
17. y = (1 +3x)-5
ANSWER: dy/dx = -15(1 + 3x)-6
18. y = (x2 + 1)10
ANSWER: y = 20x(x2 + 1)9
19. Name the type leaf venation in Monocotyledonous plants.
ANSWER: Parallel venation
20. What name is given to a leaf without a petiole?
ANSWER: Sessile leaf
21. Name the type of venation found in the leaves of dicotyledonous plants.
ANSWER: Reticulate / Net venation

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22. State Charles’ law.
ANSWER: The volume occupied by a gas at a constant pressure is directly proportional to
the absolute temperature.
23. State Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures.
ANSWER: The sum of the partial pressures of all the different gases in a mixture is equal to
the total pressure of the mixture.
24. State Graham’s law of effusion or diffusion
ANSWER: The rate of effusion or diffusion of a gas is inversely proportional to the square
root of the molar mass (or the density) of the gas at constant temperature and pressure.
25. What is a thermometric property?
ANSWER: A property of a thermometric substance that varies with temperature
26. What thermometric property is used in a liquid-in-glass thermometer?
ANSWER: Volume
27. What thermometric property is used in the constant volume ideal gas thermometer?
ANSWER: Pressure
PREAMBLE: Find the equation of the line with:
28. slope m = -3, and y-intercept b = 5.
ANSWER: y = -3x + 5
29. slope m = 3 and x-intercept a = 5.
ANSWER: y = 3(x – 5), or y = 3x – 15
30. with x-intercept a = 1 and y-intercept b = 2.
ANSWER: x/1 + y/2 = 1, or y = -2x + 2
PREAMBLE: Give the names of parts of the human eye that perform the following functions:
31. Refraction of light entering the eye.
ANSWER: Cornea
32. Nourishes the eye and prevents internal reflection of light.
ANSWER: Choroid
33. Carries nutrients to the cornea and lens.
ANSWER: Aqueous Humour
34. Name the functional groups present in a molecule of glucose.
ANSWER: 1) Alkanal functional group
2) Alkanol functional group
35. Name the functional groups present in a molecule of urea.
ANSWER: Amide (if the answer is carbonyl or amine, award only 1 mark)

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36. Name the functional groups in cholesterol.
ANSWER: 1) Alkanol 2) Alkene
PREAMBLE: Give the resistance represented by the given colour code.
37. Red, red, black
ANSWER: 22 Ω
38. Brown, black, orange
ANSWER: 10 k Ω
39. Yellow, violet, yellow
ANSWER: 470 k Ω
PREAMBLE: Given the measurements 2, 0, 4, 8, 0, 4, 2, 8 find
40. the median
ANSWER: 3 [0, 0, 2, 2, 4, 4, 8, 8 median = (2 +4)/2 = 3]
41. the mode
ANSWER: 0, 2, 4, 8
42. the mean
ANSWER: 7/2 [(2 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 8 + 8)/8 = 28/8 = 7/2]
PREAMBLE: Mention the terms that are associated with the following descriptions.
43. A bisexual flower in which the stigmasmature before the anthers.
ANSWER: Protogynous flower
44. A flower in which Sepals and petals are indistinguishable
ANSWER: Perianth
45. A bisexual flower in which the anther mature before the stigma.
ANSWER: Protandrous flower
46. Define the term ‘chemical equilibrium’
ANSWER: It is the state reached by a reaction mixture or a reversible reaction when the rates
of the forward and backward reactions have become equal.
47. Consider the equilibrium reaction.
aA + bB = cC + dD where the lower casing a, b, c and d are the stoichiometric ratios in the
balanced equation. Define the equilibrium constant Kc.
ANSWER: Kc = [C]c[D]d/[A]a[B]b.
Where [A], [B], [C], and [D] are the equilibrium concentrations of A, B, C, and D
respectively.
48. State the Law of Mass Action.

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 ANSWER: The equilibrium constant Kc is constant for a particular reaction at a given
temperature irrespective of the equilibrium concentrations of the reaction.
PROBLEM OF THE DAY

A poster has a rectangular printed area of dimension 100cm by 140 cm and a

blank strip of uniform width around the four edges. The perimeter of the

poster is one and a half times the perimeter of the printed area, Find

i) the width of the blank strip and

ii) the dimensions of the poster.

SOLUTION
100 + 2x

x 100 x
x x

140 140 + 2x

x x

x x (2 MARKS)

Let x cm be the width of the blank strip

Perimeter of the poster is 2(140 + 2x) +2(100 + 2x) = 480 + 8x (1 MARK)
Perimeter of the printed area = 2(100 + 140) = 480 (1 MARK)
480 + 8x = (3/2)(480 ) = 720 (2 MARKS)
8x = 240, x = 30 (1 MARK)

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Width of blank strip is 30 cm (1 MARK)
Dimensions of the poster is 160 cm by 200 cm (2 MARKS)
ROUND 3

TRUE OR FALSE

1. In a kite, the diagonals intersect perpendicularly.

ANSWER: True
2. In a parallelogram the diagonals are perpendicular.
ANSWER: False
3. In an isosceles trapezium, the diagonals are perpendicular.
ANSWER: False
4. In the electrolysis of molten alumina, the added cryolite (Na 3AlF6 ) serves as a solvent
ANSWER: True the electrolyte is 5% alumina in cryolite.
5. The electrolytic cell for the electrolysis of molten alumina has graphite as both the anode and the
cathode.
ANSWER: False the cathode is graphite whilst the anode is a mixture of pitch and coke
6. The anode of the electrolytic cell used in the electrolysis of molten alumina has to be replaced from
time to time because part of it reacts with the alumina.
ANSWER: False O2 liberated at the anode causes the anode to burn away
7. The phenotype of an individual depends at least in part on the genotype.
ANSWER: True
8. The phenotype of an individual determines the genotype.
ANSWER: False
9. The phenotype of an individual is the genetic constitution of the individual.
ANSWER: False
10. An echo is a manifestation of reflection of sound waves.
ANSWER: True
11. Diffraction of sound waves makes it possible to hear around corners.
ANSWER: True
12. Because sound waves are longitudinal waves, interference of sound waves is impossible.
ANSWER: False
13. If y varies directly as x2, y is proportional to x

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 ANSWER: False [ y is proportional to x2 ]

14. If y is inversely proportional to x, then xy is a constant.

ANSWER: True
15. If y varies directly as x, then y/x is a constant.
ANSWER: True
16. SiH4 occurs as a polymer.
ANSWER: False
17. NaH is ionic
ANSWER: True
18. AlH3 is a covalent polymer.
ANSWER: True
19. Conifers are better adapted to life on land than any other plant.
ANSWER: False
20. Mosses are more simple in structure than liverworts.
ANSWER: False
21. The two main seed bearing plants are conifers and angiosperms.
ANSWER: True
22. An ideal gas effuses at a rate that is independent of the pressure and temperature of the gas.
ANSWER: False
23. The rate of effusion of an ideal gas is directly proportional to the temperature of the gas.
ANSWER: False
24. The rate of effusion of an ideal gas is directly proportional to the square root of the temperature of the
gas.
ANSWER: True

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 ROUND 4

RIDDLE

Riddle #1
1. I am in a way triangle.
2. However I have no segments or angles to boast of.
3. Strictly I am a triangular array of integers.
4. Each row is symmetric and begins and ends with 1.
5. My members are binomial coefficients.
6. My name suggests I am someone’s triangle.
Who am I?
ANSWER: Pascal’s Triangle

Riddle #2
1. We are members of the genus Apis.
2. We are known to communicate through many different chemicals and odours,
3. We also use specific behaviours that convey information about the quality and type of resources in
the environment, and where these resources are located.
4. We are generalist floral visitors, and will pollinate a large variety of plants.
5. We live in colonies where the workers among us sting intruders as a form of defence.
Who are we?
ANSWER: Honey bees

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Riddle #3

1. If I were a child I would have just graduated from a nursery school and starting a new phase of my
education.
2. But I am not a child but an inanimate system.
3. I have three distinct parts, working in harmony.
4. I usually have a bridge not for humans but for electrons.
5. I convert irreversibly chemical energy into electrical energy.
6. One of my names suggests I am a citizen of the most south–easterly region of Ghana.
Who am I?
ANSWER: Primary Voltaic cell.

Riddle #4

1. I am a property of the constituents of matter.

2. I am not mass.
3. But all particles that have me also have mass.
4. Although not all particles that have mass also have me.
5. I distinguish a positron from an electron, a proton from an anti-proton.
Who am I?
ANSWER: Electric charge