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Question 1: What animals did Charles Darwin collect data from on his first visit to the Galapagos islands, which later became the basis upon which the theory of evolution was built?
Options: A) Tortoises B) Mockingbirds C) Iguanas D) Platypus
Answer: B) Mockingbirds
Explanation:
Charles Darwin was an English biologist who is best known for publishing his theory of evolution by natural selection in his 1859 book ‘On the Origin of Species’ (see Book Reviews). In 1936, Darwin set off to the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, to look for evidence attaching wildlife to an older "centre of creation”.
Darwin found that the mockingbirds he had collected from different islands had notable differences in appearance. He soon noticed that many other species of animals were unique to the island they inhabited.
In fact, Darwin realised that the animals that inhabited an island were specifically adapted to living in that particular environment. For example, the beak size of the mockingbirds across the archipelago varied with the type of food available to the birds on a particular island. He also found that, on islands with low shrubbery, Galapagos tortoises tended to have whereas on islands with taller vegetation, such as cacti, the tortoises had longer legs and necks. Their shell shapes varied greatly, too. Based on these findings, Darwin concluded that all species slowly change over time through constant adaptation to their surrounding environment. Individuals that are poorly adapted to survival that environment die, while those who are well adapted survive and pass on the ‘favourable’ traits to their offsprings. This became known as the ‘survival of the fittest’.
First ridiculed for his discovery, Charles Darwin went on to arguably become the most famous biologist to step foot on this planet.
Tortoise with shorter neck and legs on Fernandina Island.
Tortoise with longer neck and legs on Pinta Island.
Question 2: Which of the following Vitamins is synthesised in our bodies by intestinal bacteria?
Options: A) Vitamin K B) Vitamin D C) Vitamin C D) Vitamin B1
Answer: A) Vitamin K
Explanation: Many bacteria, such as E. coli found in the large intestine, can synthesise vitamin K2, also known as menaquinone. Vitamin K2 plays an essential role in regulating blood coagulation and calcium metabolism.
Question 3: A typical human ribcage consists of how many ribs?
Options: A) 12 B) 16 C) 20 D) 24
Answer: D) 24
Explanation: 12 on each side. Apart from Adam, who apparently has 23...
"So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the area with flesh. And from that rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him." Genesis 2:22
Question 5: When did humans and dogs last share a common ancestor?
Options: A) ~10 Million years ago B) ~65 Million years ago C) ~100 Million years ago D) ~800 Million years ago
Answer: C) ~100 Million years ago
Explanation:
Analysis of human and dog brains has led to the speculation that humans and dogs last shared a common ancestor, probably an insectivore, around 100 million years ago.
Question 4: What was the largest species of dinosaur?
Options: A) Argentinosaurs B) Brachiosaurus C) Mamenchisaurus D) Diplodocus
Answer: A) Argentinosaurs
Explanation: Argentinosaurs are a genus of herbivore dinosaurs that lived during the late Cretaceous period (~96-92 Million years ago) in what is now Argentina. Its length is estimated to range from 30-40 metres, and its weight from 50-100 tonnes.
Question 6: How do bird foetuses get oxygen when they're inside the egg?
Options: A) From the water inside the egg B) Through small pores in the shell
C) They can live without it until they hatch D) As a by-product of protein breakdown inside the cell
Answer: B) Through small pores in the shell
Explanation: A chicken egg has ~10'000 tiny pores on its shell. These pores allow diffusion of Oxygen into the egg and diffusion of Carbon Dioxide out of it. To help keep bacteria and dirt particles from entering via the gas-exchange pores, a thin outer layer of the shell called the cuticle acts as a physical barrier.
Question 7: Males of which of the following species lays eggs?
Options: A) Water Snake B) Mosquito C) Tarantula D) Seahorse
Answer: D) Seahorse
Explanation: Male seahorses have a pouch on their stomach, capable of carrying as many as 2'000 eggs. The eggs are fertilised inside the male's pouch and the pregnancy last from 10-25 days, depending on the species of seahorse. The eggs hatch inside the pouch, and the father cares for the young as they grow, regulating the water salinity in the pouch to prepare them for life in the sea.
A Party of pregnant male seahorses.
Question 9: How do sea turtles breathe under water?
Options: A) With gills located on their belly B) Through their shells C) They have a second lung capable of storing large volumes of Oxygen D) By filtering Oxygen out of the water
Answer: B) Through their shells
Explanation: Sea turtles have lungs, and their rib cages are located on the inner part of their shell (i.e. on their backs). Since a shell cannot expand and contract the way ribs do, sea turtles have muscles inside their shells that expand and contract to move air in and out of the lungs. Some sea turtles can also breathe through their butt.
Question 10: How many species of insects are there on earth?
Options: A) ~1’000 B) ~10’000 C) ~100’000 D) ~1’000’000
Answer: D) ~1’000’000
Explanation: Insects make up ~40% of all living species on earth, and ~85% of the animal kingdom. However, scientists believe that there are many undocumented insects species, which could bring the total number up to 10-30 Million species. Pretty incredible, isn't it.
Question 8: Which Mammal cannot regulate its own body temperature?
Options: A) Sloth B) Giraffe C) Koala D) Chinchilla
Answer: A) Sloth
Explanation: Typically, mammals have a high metabolic rate at low ambient temperatures, which decreases as the temperatures increase. When the ambient temperature rises above 30°C, the metabolic rate begins to increase. Meanwhile sloths use very little energy at low ambient temperatures (like reptiles), more energy at medium temperatures, and reduced their metabolic rate at high temperatures. This depression of a Sloth's metabolism at high temperatures seems unique in the animal kingdom. It appears that, when it gets too hot in the wild, all a sloth can really do is to move into the shade to cool down. It would therefore make sense to sit still, sleep through it, and wait for the conditions to become more favourable for activity. Whilst sitting still, by depressing their metabolism they are simultaneously saving energy and also reducing the amount of metabolic heat being produced by their body (and therefore staying a little bit cooler).
References:
1) Egg Nutrition Center. 2020. An Egg Has 7,000-17,000 Tiny Pores On Its Shell. [online] Available at: <https://www.eggnutritioncenter.org/articles/fun-fact-friday-an-egg-has-7000-17000-tiny-pores-on-its-shell/> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
2) Dinosaurpictures.org. 2020. Argentinosaurus. [online] Available at: <https://dinosaurpictures.org/Argentinosaurus-pictures> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
3) All Turtles. 2020. Can Turtles Breathe Through Their Butts? - All Turtles. [online] Available at: <https://www.allturtles.com/can-turtles-breathe-through-their-butts/> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
4) COLLINS, M. and FERNANDEZ, F., 1985. High-performance liquid chromatography of menaquinones of intestinal bacteria. Biochemical Society Transactions, 13(6), pp.1237-1238.
5) American Museum of Natural History. 2020. Galapagos Mockingbirds | AMNH. [online] Available at: <https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/darwin/a-trip-around-the-world/island-species/galapagos-mockingbirds> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
6) The Sloth Conservation Foundation. 2020. Sloths Extraordinary Metabolic Response To Temperature - Sloco. [online] Available at: <https://slothconservation.com/newly-published-sloths-extraordinary-metabolic-response-temperature/> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
7) Sites.google.com. 2020. Survival Adaptations - Galapagos Tortoise, T.K., 2012. [online] Available at: <https://sites.google.com/site/galapagostortoisetk2012/survival-adaptations> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
8) American Museum of Natural History. 2020. Which Animal Group Has The Most Organisms? | AMNH. [online] Available at: <https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/earth/ask-a-scientist-about-our-environment/which-animal-group-has-the-most-organisms> [Accessed 1 April 2020].
9) io9. 2020. Why The Brains Of Dogs And Humans Are More Similar Than You Think. [online] Available at: <https://io9.gizmodo.com/why-the-brains-of-dogs-and-humans-are-more-similar-than-1527707674> [Accessed 1 April 2020].