Grade 7-9 Natural Science Olympiad
Quiz by Padiso Chaka
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- Q1
Plugging too many appliances into one power point may result in an overload that can cause a short circuit and quite possibly a fire.
Appliances are in parallel and exceed the maximum voltage
Appliances are in parallel and exceed the maximum amperage
Appliances are in series and exceed the maximum voltage
Appliances are in series and exceed the maximum amperage
30s - Q2
A thermometer is placed in a beaker of hot water as shown here.
A student, watching carefully, notices that the mercury column drops by a small amount but then starts to rise as it responds to the heat of the water. It rises until it is reading the temperature of the hot water correctly. Why does the mercury drop initially?
The student is in error – the mercury began to expand immediately.
The heat of the water reaches the glass first, causing the bulb to expand and the cool mercury sinks into the enlarged bulb. Heat then gets to the mercury and it expands up the tube in the normal way.
The shock of entering the hot water cause the mercury to shrink at first.
The thermometer has a tiny crack, and some mercury leaks out.
30s - Q3
The Sun dominates our Solar System. It is 333 000 times heavier (more massive) than Earth and is powered by a nuclear fusion reaction that turns hydrogen into helium and gives off light and heat.
Since light travels at 300 000 km per second, and the sunlight takes 500 seconds to reach Earth, how far are we away from the Sun?
150 000 000 km
There is insufficient data to calculate this.
6 000 km
15 000 000 km
30s - Q4
The diagrams below show the patterns produced on an oscilloscope by three different sound waves. (Look at the 2022 document that was sent to you)
Which one of the following is correct?
B and C have different loudness but the same amplitude
A and C have the same loudness but have a different pitch
B and C have the same loudness and the same wavelength
B and C have the same loudness but have a different pitch
30s - Q5
Hydroponics is the science of growing terrestrial plants in a …
Laboratory
Desert
Lake
Aerated solution
30s - Q6
Which of the following correctly indicates the four biomes (ecosystems that share similar climate conditions) indicated above in the correct order 1 to 4? (Look at the document I sent on WhatsApp)
Forest, Savannah, Fynbos, Nama Karoo
Fynbos, Forest, Nama Karoo, Savannah
Forest, Nama Karoo, Grassland, Savannah
Fynbos, Nama Karoo, Grassland, Savannah
30s - Q7
In which of these biomes will you find the South African national flower?
3
1
2
4
30s - Q8
A body is falling from a height of h. Ignore air friction and assume energy is conserved. After it has fallen a height of ¾h, it will possess.
More kinetic energy than the potential energy
More potential energy than kinetic energy
Only potential energy
Only kinetic energy
30s - Q9
What did the student observe after 3 minutes [P] up to the 8th minute [Q]?(please refer to the document I sent)
Steam began to rise from the ice at P, but this ended at Q.
The ice melted while the temperature remained constant.
The beaker cracked, and all the water leaked out.
The water started to boil.
30s - Q10
Which one of the following statements best describes the recordings on the graph?
The flame of the Bunsen burner went out at P and was reignited at Q.
The student fell asleep for 5 minutes and failed to record the steady rise in temperature.
Heat causes the temperature to rise except when the state changes from solid to liquid.
P represents the melting point of ice, while Q represents the boiling point of water.
30s - Q11
The number of joules contained in 1 kWh is… (Research scientific notation)
3,7 × 107 J
36 × 10^8 J
3,6 × 10^7 J
36 × 10^5 J
30s - Q12
How are the water striders able to walk on water?
These particular insects weigh less than nothing.
Cohesive forces create “surface tension” forming a thin film able to support their weight.
The water is more dense than these insects.
They have very big feet.
30s - Q13
Arthropods like insects have “compound eyes” consisting of arrays of hundreds of small lenses that are controlled by the animal’s brain. This gives them advantages over the “simple eyes” of mammals like us.
This illustration shows a honey bee vision system. Astronomers have used this idea from nature to set up arrays using optical telescopes like the Very Large Telescope Array (VLT) in Chile which took the first photograph of an exoplanet.
The main advantage of using multiple telescopes in a coordinated array are …
Astronomers can track the movement of individual stars around the black hole at the centre of our galaxy
Astronomers can measure stars and exoplanets very accurately.
Astronomers can analyse the atmosphere around a super-Earth exoplanet.
All of the above have been achieved.
30s - Q14
In SONAR, we use
ultrasonic waves
radio waves
infrasonic waves
audible sound waves
30s - Q15
The diagram represents an experiment done to compare the Thermal Conductivity of three different metals: Iron, Copper and Aluminium. Three bars of the metals are all the same sizes. Wax is used to identify which metal conducts the heat from the flame to the end of the bar most quickly. The heat source is a Spirit Burner, and the Bars are balanced on a Tripod Stand. The thermal conductivities will be revealed by the order in which the wax melts. Which of these statements gives the correct order that the wax will melt to reveal the thermal conductivity of the three metals being tested? (Please look at the diagram on the document I sent)
First iron then aluminium then copper
They all melt at the same time because they use the same heat source.
First copper then aluminium then iron
First aluminium then iron then copper.
30s